The Left in Europe - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung

Perspectives
Luxemburg
Since their defeat in the local elections of 2005 the relationship between the
Communist Party and The Left remains unchanged. A letter from The Left
suggesting that joint lists should be considered ahead of the elections in
June 2009 has been left unanswered by the KPL. Instead, Ali Ruckert has
told the press that his party will take part with open lists. In view of what
had happened in the past he was not interested in cooperating with The
Left. 20 In adopting this strategy the KPL is taking advantage of a few basic
attitudes among Luxembourgers, which may seem strange to outsiders. Of
all the countries in Europe Luxembourg has the highest proportion of people
(59%) who regard the fall of the Berlin Wall (“rideau de fer”) as rather
disadvantageous for the development of their own country. 21 The memory
of the Communist Party as it was in the 1960s and 1970s and its sociopolitical
efforts in the service of the workers are also very much alive in the
southern regions of the country.
For its part The Left is trying to appeal to both Social Democratic and
Green voters by paying more attention to welfare and ecological issues and
taking a stronger stand on issues of social policy. 22 Particular importance is
attached to its work in the Party of the European Left. In June 2008 members
of The Left took part in the founding of “Transform! Luxembourg”, a
branch of the European left-wing Transform! Network in which questions
of distribution and the connection between ecological and social issues are
discussed in working groups. 23
20 Cf. KPL (2008): Press release of 18.12.2008, in: http://www.kp-l.org/, accessed on 25.01.2009; David
Wagner (2008): Speech at the New Year’s Meeting of “Déi Lénk”, in: http://www.indymedia-letzebuerg.
net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=26, accessed on 25.01.2009; Déi Lénk
– La Gauche: Press release of 06.01.2008, in: http://www.sokrates.lu/forum/viewtopic.php?f
=4&t=2431, accessed on 25.01.2009.
21 C f . S o n d a g e E u r o b a r o m è t r e a u L u x e m b o u r g , 2 8 . 0 1 . 2 0 0 9 , i n :
http://www.indymedia-letzebuerg.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17916&Itemid=
27, accessed on 25.01.2009.
22 Tageblatt, Zeitung fir Lëtzebuerg, 23.01.2009.
23 Transform! Luxembourg, in: Forum für Politik, Gesellschaft und Kultur (282), Dec. 2008, p. 8.
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