Both MPs were asked about the recent draft bill on hiding one’s face in public (popularly known as the “veil ban”).

While the ADR had introduced a draft law in 2014 on banning the veil in all public spaces, which would introduce a general ban, déi Lénk wondered if this was actually a real issue in Luxembourg, as only around 10-12 women were concerned by such a law. David Wagner, MP for déi Lénk, added: “I was not elected to decide what people should wear, especially women.”

On the opposite side of the political spectrum, Gast Gibéryen, who is an MP for the ADR, argued that “people wanted a general ban of the veil” in Luxembourg. He argued that the current draft law was “crazy” and “impossible to implement” in practice. A woman can wear a veil in the street, but if she enters public transport, she has to take it off, he argued. When she enters a public building, she has to take it off, but when she leaves, she can put it on again. Gibéryen argued that the proposed law was half-hearted, while Wagner suspected that the government wanted to appease a nervous minority.

Housing for Déi Lénk

The left party Déi Lénk’s biggest concern is housing in Luxembourg. Wagner argued that housing had become unaffordable unless a person earns a significant income or gets support from family. He argued that the free market had failed and cannot provide decent housing anymore.

He rejected the accusation that his party was essentially a negative party; “we are in favour of a society that works differently (…) We are for a society that is as equal as possible, an ecological, feminist, socially just society where money does not have primacy. We notice that it’s not like that in Luxembourg or in Europe, that is why we need to criticise.”