No programme and no Frank Engel--the launch of the party, which took place on Monday 21 February in the Bivius restaurant in Strassen felt as though it lacked something. But if the absence of the former president of the CSV and central figure of the new party, for health reasons, was unforeseen, the absence of a programme was a conscious decision. Fokus claims to be a "pragmatic" party, "without a fixed ideology".

The newcomer to Luxembourg’s political scene, which claims to be "in the middle" of the political spectrum, simply revolves around a certain number of common values--solidarity, respect, the willingness to take positions influenced by scientific knowledge, transparency, commitment... "These are the values that have enabled us to emerge from the crisis, that have held the country together, not money,” according to the president of Fokus, Marc Ruppert.

20 founding members

Fokus has 20 founding members. Seven of the founding members make up the board, including Engel, who has reportedly decided on his own to be the spokesperson. The president, Marc Ruppert, is assisted by two vice-presidents, Françoise Kirsch and Anne Lecuit, the latter also responsible for the youth section. Gary Kneip acts as secretary general and is assisted by Ervin Zaljevic, while the treasurer is Jacques Linster.

The party is aiming for 100 members by the time it holds its first congress in June. It wants to define, after consultation with its members--and "without letting ideology influence them too much”--more political positions. The idea, however, is to remain agile--to be able to behave like a company, "a start-up". "It's about taking problems and finding solutions that are in the interest of the people, rather than having a predefined ideology," which is what characterises existing parties, explains deputy secretary general Ervin Zaljevic.

"Entrepreneurs in politics"

Do we see the influence in this approach of La République en Marche (LREM), which brought Emmanuel Macron to power in France? "It's a bit of the same spirit," admits Marc Ruppert. In any case, Fokus seems to be adopting the traits of what political scientist Philippe Poirier, from the University of Luxembourg, calls "entrepreneurs in politics", a consequence of the phenomenon of partisan disaffiliation underway in Europe.

According to Poirier, political phenomena such as Emmanuel Macron in France, Donald Trump in the United States or the 5-Star Movement in Italy, despite all their differences, "take advantage of the mismatch between the political offer presented by the political parties and the transformation of societal, economic or social values.” Macron is not at the head of a political party, the political scientist says. Rather he is “at the head of a fluid movement, which recomposes itself according to the cleavages, interests and issues.”

Participating in the government

This observation did not escape the founders of Fokus. "In the latest polls, many people no longer see themselves in the current parties. So, together with Frank Engel, we quickly realised that there was a way to launch something," says Ruppert. It remains to be seen whether Luxembourg society is ready to follow.

In any case, the stated ambition of Fokus is indeed to gain access to power during the next elections. "If we have the ambition to change things, we must have the ambition to make a good result in order to become an option for a future participation in the government,” Ruppert argues.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.