“For the LSAP, the municipalities are the heart of democracy,” said LSAP co-chair on Saturday morning as the party met in congress to present and debate the framework programme for the municipal elections.

The campaign will be held under the slogan “Et ass Zaït fir staark sozial Gemengen”--“It’s time for socially strong municipalities”--and will be organised around the areas of housing, environment and climate, social and labour issues, health and education.

These will form a common thread for both the municipal and legislative elections, even if measures and goals will be different for both ballots, with the aim of the local elections to be closer to the daily reality of citizens.

The LSAP, for example, wants to encourage the creation of affordable rental housing, alternative housing such as tiny houses or to advocate solutions such as long leases.

For environmental reasons, the party opposes the opening of new general development plans, or PAGs, and advocates more densification of the municipalities on land already available. The creation of green areas, car-free neighbourhoods, soft mobility and alternative transport are all ambitions for greener municipalities, not forgetting the circular economy with, for example, the development of repair cafés.

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The LSAP also wants to develop local commerce, create jobs in the municipalities, and promote learning and equal opportunities in schools. “The municipalities have so many competences in everyday life that the framework programme is, in fact, very diverse,” said Biancalana.

It will serve as a guide for the local sections, but the party’s local chapters will retain their autonomy and will be able to “use it as they see fit”, says the mayor of Dudelange who is also a member of parliament. “We must take into account the specificities of the communes.”

If the communes are the “heart of democracy”, the LSAP also raised the issue of the democratic deficit that reigns during communal elections. On 31 January 2023, only  to vote. The party therefore took the opportunity to call on this large number of potential voters and vote. Voting is open to new arrivals from EU and non-EU countries as soon as they register in their commune.

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