François Bausch was born on 16 October 1956 in Luxembourg City. A railway worker by trade, he entered the Chamber of Deputies in 1989 as a déi Gréng MP representing the Centre constituency. Re-elected without interruption from 1994 to 2013, he was chairman of the party’s parliamentary group from 1999 to 2013. He was also chairman of the parliamentary oversight committee for the State Intelligence Service from 2009 to 2013. That was the same intelligence service whose erratic actions forced former PM Jean-Claude Juncker to call early parliamentary elections in 2013. These elections, which he lost, enabled the Gambia coalition (DP-LSAP-déi Gréng) to come to power until October 2023. At municipal level, Bausch was a member of the Luxembourg City Council from 1994 to 2005, then first alderman from 2005 to 2013.

From 2013 to 2023, he was a minister without interruption. During the Bettel I government, he was minister for sustainable development and infrastructure. In 2018, his responsibilities were extended to include defence and internal security. Following Félix Braz’s retirement, Bausch was promoted to deputy prime minister in 2020. He lost the internal security portfolio in the reshuffle of January 2022. The 2023 general election was a major setback for the Greens, who lost five MPs and were relegated from a fraction to a political sensitivity. Bausch was, however, reelected as an MP.

Marc Fassone: Would you have decided to stand down if the latest election results for déi Gréng hadn’t been so disappointing?

: My decision has nothing to do with the various election results over the last 12 months. I had already been thinking for weeks about the right time to take this step aside. When I stood as a candidate in the legislative elections last October, I announced that I would accept my mandate as an MP, but that I would no longer be a member of the government. You will also have noticed that I did not play a leading role in the campaign for the European elections. I didn’t head the list, I was more of a supporter. The most important thing for me was to help safeguard our seat, which we did by the skin of our teeth. I think my personal score contributed to this. [Editor’s note: Bausch received 29,230 votes under his leadership, placing him second behind , the outgoing MEP who was re-elected with 43,828 votes. In the last legislative elections, Bausch received 12,605 votes].

With this mission accomplished, I thought long and hard about the best time to step aside. Rather than wait for the autumn and the return of the deputies, I said to myself that I had to do it now. By resigning on 10 July, , who for me represents the future of the party and who will replace me, will be able to take the oath of office on the 11th, the date of the first session of the term of office.

You are leaving political life. Claude Turmes did the same a few months ago. Is this the turning of a page at Déi Gréng, the end of a generation?

Yes, a page is being turned. I’m the last of the founding fathers, so to speak. Although I didn’t contribute directly to the founding of this party in 1983, I joined it in 1986 and worked to merge all the green parties and associations that existed at the end of the 1980s. But I’m leaving with peace of mind, because a new generation has emerged. In October, dei Gréng will elect a new leadership that will reflect this. Now, giving up a mandate doesn’t mean I’m giving up politics. I’m still an activist and I’ll always be there to support this generation whenever it needs me.

What do you expect from the next generation, the young Greens like Djuna Bernard and Meris Sehovic, who are making their mark on the political landscape?

I expect the next generation to win the 2028 parliamentary elections!

What future do you see for political ecology in these uncertain times?

Political ecology still has a future because the major social and environmental issues that we have always fought for have not disappeared with the last elections. If anything, they are even more present now than they were 15 or 20 years ago. We are going through a difficult period as a party because in recent years there has been a very, very violent campaign against everything green. We’ve become scapegoats. But it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last... All the parties have had more difficult times in their history. But I think the strength of the Greens is that they have the sensitivity and intelligence to work to find the right solutions for the planet and for society. And I’m convinced that they’ll get their act together again. The future lies ahead of them.

What has been the best moment of your career?

In terms of achievements, the best moment for me was the opening of the tram on 12 December 2017. For me, that inauguration was incredible because it was the culmination of a project that I had been working on politically for 30 years. It was a wonderful moment. There was also the 2018 general election with the nine seats won and 15.13% of the vote.

And what was the worst moment of your career?

Firstly, on a personal level, the death of Camille Gira, with whom I fought from the start within the ecologist family and who was one of my best friends. His death [Editor’s note: Gira died on 16 May 2018 as a result of cardiac arrest after collapsing during a speech in the Chamber of Deputies] was a very difficult moment. As for my professional career, two accidents come to mind. A railway accident in Bettembourg that killed one person, and the Waldhof explosion on 14 February 2019 that killed two members of the Luxembourg army’s demining service. Talking to the families of the victims was a very difficult and emotional time.

When you’ve been as active as you have for 35 years, how do you feel about retirement?

I’ve thought long and hard about this. Firstly, I want to devote more time to my family, who have put up with my political commitment and its daily constraints all these years. After that, I’m not someone who’s going to stop and do nothing. I have lots of ideas and plans to get involved in civil life and to speak out on major social issues such as safeguarding the rule of law, freedom of speech and rejecting the extreme right. The idea is not to systematically criticise those in power, but rather to tackle these issues in a forward-looking way and launch debates using all the experience I’ve been able to accumulate over the years. I now have greater freedom of speech than I’ve had for the last 35 years, during which I’ve always made compromises... A freedom I hold dear.

What’s on your agenda for the next few days and weeks?

Until 10 July, I’ll be carrying out my duties as a member of parliament. After that, I’ll be taking a holiday, doing some thinking... and reading a lot of books.

What can we wish you for the future?

Good health for me and my family. Being together with my family and in good health is the greatest joy of all.

Originally published in French by and translated for Delano