I will remember 2019 as the year that Luxembourg…

Lost the “father” of the modern country with the death of Grand Duke Jean in April. He was admired the world over, as the list of attendees of his state funeral testified. He will be remembered as a fully engaged head of state who developed a warm relationship with the Luxembourg people and played a crucial role in the development of the country.

It was also the year that a British prime minister refused to share a press conference podium with his Luxembourg counterpart because of the noise created by a score of frustrated British citizens. Boris Johnson was pilloried in some quarters of the media, while the grand duchy and Xavier Bettel suffered abuse from other sections of the British press. But Johnson had the last laugh in December when he won the UK parliamentary election with a huge majority.

Luxembourg also made waves of a more positive kind when the government announced its plans to introduce free public transport as of 1 March 2020.

The Delano story I worked on that gave me most satisfaction…

Was probably April’s cover story--“Last chance for Europe”--previewing May’s European Parliament elections. Common consensus was that these were the most important EP elections ever, as the European project faced an uncertain future if too many sceptics and anti-EU forces from both extremes of the political spectrum won seats in Strasbourg. But the people I talked to presented a wide range of concrete solutions to save the EU. Some were more founded in reality than others, it must be said. But all had a true passion and commitment to improving the EU. And thankfully, anti-EU parties failed to make the gains many feared--and they will be reduced in number after the UK leaves the union and Nigel Farage and his fellow Brexit MEPs lose their place in the parliament.

The June cover story--“Can Luxembourg conquer the stars?”--about Luxembourg’s space strategy was also satisfying because all four Delano journalists made a contribution.

The word of the year is…

Empty-chair/podium. It’s that man Boris Johnson again, who followed his “humiliation” in Luxembourg with being replaced (alongside Nigel Farage) by a block of melting ice when he refused to participate in an election debate of party leaders on the climate on British TV’s Channel 4.

The tweet of the year award goes to….

Anything put out there by Alistair Green (@mralistairgreen). He does self-filmed monologues (sometimes dialogues where he plays both roles) that satirise everyday situations and trending political stories with beautiful minimalist precision.

My film of the year was…

The unmatchable Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite”. A brilliantly constructed, beautifully shot, totally unique black comedy that is truly captivating for every single second of its 132-minute running time. Perfect performances mark the story of a down-and-out family of four who little by little take over the mansion of the stylishly wealthy Park family. Amid the rising tension and fabulously comic moments, there’s a twist, or several that deliver knock-out blows to the audience of the kind rarely seen in cinema these days.

In 2020, I am most looking forward to...

I can’t not mention the Luxembourg City Film Festival in March. I sit on the selection committee and we have already snapped up some truly memorable films for the 2020 edition.

From a purely professional perspective, I am sure I’m not the only journalist in the grand duchy licking their lips at the prospect of March’s SREL trial at which Jean-Claude Juncker is due to appear as a witness.

And, inevitably, the negotiations between the UK and the EU to try and finalise a trade deal before the end of the year will be another Brexit thriller with plenty of twists and turns to come.

Then, in November, we will see what the American voters’ verdict is on Donald Trump’s presidency.