"The government should be more controlled by the chamber, but the government is doing everything to avoid this control", said Sven Clement. (Photo: Maison Moderne)

"The government should be more controlled by the chamber, but the government is doing everything to avoid this control", said Sven Clement. (Photo: Maison Moderne)

Encouraged by the results of the recent polls, Pirate Party MPs Sven Clement and Marc Goergen, took a swipe at the parliamentary majority as they presented their summer review.

Following the DP and the LSAP, but ahead of the CSV, the ADR, déi Gréng and déi Lénk, it was the Pirates' turn to present their report of the parliamentary year ahead of the summer break.

1. The lack of government transparency

"This government started its mandate with a speech about transparency. However, in the end, we now find ourselves in a political landscape where no commission of enquiry has been carried out since 2013," said , who reminded his audience that the Pirates had voted, after the 2018 legislative elections, in favour of the initial governmental declaration of the "Bettel II" coalition. Since then, the party has changed its mind, he said.

"The government should be controlled more by the chamber, but the government is doing everything to evade this control. There are cases that would have deserved a commission of enquiry. Let's mention the 'SuperDrecksKëscht' file or the Luxeosys satellite dossier, where we have proof, thanks to the Court of Auditors, that the government did not tell the chamber the whole truth. In any other country, this would be reason enough to open such a commission of enquiry. But not here, apparently..."

The reform of the fourth chapter of the Constitution, voted last week, will make it easier to open such commissions of enquiry. This is a step forward, according to Clement who remains cautious: “I'm waiting to see how it will be in reality.”

2. The defiscalisation of the social minimum wage

Tax reform has been at the heart of discussions in the Chamber of Deputies these last few days. The orientation debate took place last Thursday. For the Pirate Party, "contrary to what the DP says", there is still room for budgetary manoeuvre.

Clement, who was accompanied on Monday 18 July by the other Pirate MP, , is pushing for "a 100% tax exemption for the minimum social wage, to allow those with the least purchasing power to live a little more decently.”

Such a measure has been estimated by the Direct Tax Administration to cost between €300m and €350m, according to the honorary president of the Piratepartei. He has already thought of one way in which this could be financed in the future. Namely, via "an increase in the maximum tax rate--up to 49%, with various intermediate brackets--for those earning more than €200,000 per year. The same administration has indicated that such a reform could generate €500m in revenue."

3. Telework for frontier workers

Teleworking is another hot topic in the Chamber, at least since , has broken all records for the number of signatures obtained.

"Since the beginning of July, we have found a world without exemptions and we realise that something has to be done,” says Clement, referring to telework. The MP says it is necessary to "succeed in finding fair agreements with Germany, Belgium and France". And for that, "the magic word is tax retrocession" towards neighbouring countries, he explains.

"The European Union has said that it advocates an increase in the number of teleworking days. So I suppose that before the end of this European legislature, in 2024, the game will have changed regarding the current social security limitation. And it would be ideal if we had obtained agreements with neighbouring countries before this deadline,” said Clement.  Currently, cross-border employees may work from home for 25% of the time. If they exceed this threshold, they will be affiliated to the social security system of their country of residence.

4. The 2023 elections

on voting intentions for the next elections did not escape the attention of Clement and his party, either. The Pirates were projected to win six seats--triple the current number--in the poll.

"If this were to become a reality, it would allow us to exercise even more effectively the 'wake-up call' we have become accustomed to giving to the government. These polls show that the government would still have a majority, but it can also be seen as a desire to strengthen the opposition," says the Pirates' leader.

Clement didn’t comment on the presence of the Pirate Party in a possible government coalition. "It is very difficult to talk about political games that are not based on anything concrete," he says. Only one thing is certain: "There will be no agreement with the far right.”

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