"Giving Luxembourg a voice again"

After receiving around ten per cent of the vote in the last European elections, which was still not enough for the hoped-for entry into the European Parliament, the adr is hopeful that it will succeed this time. Lead candidate Fernand Kartheiser – the adr does not have a female co-lead candidate – is convinced of this, as he emphasised to us in an interview with his fellow candidate, adr President and Member of parliament Alexandra Schoos.

"We think we have a realistic chance of winning a mandate. In recent years, we have realised that the four parties that have represented Luxembourg in the European Parliament are almost always of the same opinion, sometimes with nuances, but in principle they pursue the same policies. The adr would play a different role here, which would be a gain for Luxembourg. That would ensure more diversity, " says 64-year-old Kartheiser, who worked as a diplomat for a long time and has been a member of the Chamber since 2009.

The lead candidate is of course aware that Gast Gibéryen, who retired from active politics in 2020, received more than twice as many votes in the last European elections as Kartheiser, who was also there in 2019 (and 2014), but the circumstances and the general socio-political climate are different this time.

"The policies that have been the order of the day at European level in recent years have been rather disavowed – from the Green Deal to the farmers' protests. There is a clear desire for a change of direction. In Luxembourg, meanwhile, the other parties are in the process of recycling their MEPs, people who have not necessarily been seen much in recent years. So there is a certain attrition factor. We also have 13 lists this time, which makes it arithmetically easier for us to get a mandate in the European Parliament."