Luc Frieden (l.) pictured with Claude Wiseler (the CSV’s co-chair since 2021) at a 2017 event. Wiseler in 2018 led the CSV into the national elections but Frieden could this year stage a return to politics. Library photo: Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne

Luc Frieden (l.) pictured with Claude Wiseler (the CSV’s co-chair since 2021) at a 2017 event. Wiseler in 2018 led the CSV into the national elections but Frieden could this year stage a return to politics. Library photo: Jan Hanrion/Maison Moderne

Delano recaps some of the top stories this week in politics in bite-sized format, including a rumoured return of Luc Frieden to the world of politics, a debate on telework, a new Luxembourg embassy in Costa Rica and more.

 Catch up on these and other news, not all of which made headlines, in our roundup.

What’s the big deal?

Chamber of Commerce president (CSV) is to Luxembourg politics, ten years after he was ousted from government together with ’s coalition in 2013.

Frieden from 1998 had served variously as defence, justice and finance minister and had widely been touted as Juncker’s successor in the party. Then came the coalition breakdown over how Juncker managed the Srel secret service, resulting in the CSV being booted to the opposition bench.

It was not a good fit for Frieden who left for the private sector and positions at Deutsche Bank and later the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL). In a Back to the Future move, the Christian Democrats could now return him to the party fold. An official announcement is expected next week.

Party co-chair would neither confirm nor deny the news, but it has already raised some eyebrows in Luxembourg. The CSV in 2021 had revamped its party leadership to make it younger, more cooperative and dynamic.

Top stories on Delano

·      Discussions around reducing the Luxembourg pension fund’s carbon footprint have entered the umptieth round. Lawmakers in principle appear to have agreed that the fund’s . A debate in parliament is scheduled for February.

·      After years of negotiations mental health treatment will by national health insurer CNS starting next month.

·      It’s a double election year (how could we forget) and largely due to the absence of meaningful legislation regulating campaigning, Luxembourg’s political parties have in the upcoming local and national ballots.

Photo of the week

Members of Luxembourg’s parliament marked Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January  Photo: John Oesch Vision Photography

Members of Luxembourg’s parliament marked Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January  Photo: John Oesch Vision Photography

From parliament

·      In the ongoing quest for more flexibility in the workplace, petitioners demanding two days of remote work per week this week. And while all sides appeared to be largely on the same page, cross-border restrictions are hindering progress.   

·      Between 2023 and 2027, Luxembourg expects to spend €135m on sports infrastructure, including outdoor pools in Vianden and Wiltz. A draft law was presented in parliament this week and is now being debated by MPs.

·      A petition for stay-at-home parent pay in 2021 fell just short of a 4,500 signature target to be debated in parliament. A follow-up document has now cracked the mark and more support for parents who don’t want to send their kids to a daycare facility will be discussed.

Diplomatic relations

·      Nato leaders in July are expected to raise a 2% of GDP defence spending target. For Luxembourg’s tiny army , and the grand duchy said it would “insist on its own particular case” during talks.

·      Coup d’états, NGO expulsions and despot regimes are making life difficult for Luxembourg development cooperation. The country is now from Nicaragua to Costa Rica.

·      Finance minister Yuriko Backes (DP) travelled to Warsaw on 26 and 27 January to meet with Poland’s Magdalena Rzeczkowska, and to take part in the 4th Luxembourg-Poland Business Conference.