"Everything in its time"

Alex Bodry is a political veteran. At the beginning of 2020, he became a member of the Council of State, having previously sat in parliament for a total of 26 years (including as parliamentary group leader), been a minister for ten years (1989 to 1999), mayor of Dudelange for ten years (2004 to 2014) and party president of the LSAP for ten years (also from 2004 to 2014), to mention only his most important positions.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: Somehow, the Council of State still has a reputation as a retirement home for tired men and women or as a shunting yard for clarifying personnel matters, which is not the case, as former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker once tried to defend the High Body in one of his government statements. Nevertheless, anyone who is not re-elected in the legislative elections or otherwise fails to achieve political success is either banished to the European Parliament in Brussels or nominated for a Council of State post. Why is that?

Alex Bodry: When I look at the composition of the Council of State today, I cannot share this blanket assessment. The parties think carefully when they send people to the Council of State because everyone is aware of how important this function is. No one is sent there any more who cannot actively contribute with their ideas and convictions, and who is only supposed to fill the chair. Some things have changed. Also, the majority of the State Council members are still professionally active. I think we have only three retirees among the 21 members. So the image that the Council of State gave perhaps a few years ago no longer corresponds to reality.

Did you get so bored with your work in the Chamber of Deputies that you voluntarily changed to the Council of State? Don't you sometimes regret your change, and aren't your fingers itching to sometimes call out the adr, for example?

The fact that I moved to the Council of State is mainly due to my long time in parliament and in national politics. I was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1984, and after more than 35 years in politics, there comes a time you should stop and make way for the new generation. I have made my contribution as an MP and as a minister, and the opportunity to become a member of the Council of State was a nice way for me to end, or rather extend, my political career.