"Meanwhile, I am 110 per cent Minister for Culture"

When you sit opposite Eric Thill, you always feel somewhat underdressed – so impeccably turned out is he once again. This is already our second interview with the DP Minister, whom we first met five months after he joined the government. This time, the interview is taking place not at the Ministry of Culture on Boulevard Roosevelt, but at the Ministry of the Economy in the Forum Royal, where Thill also has an office as Deputy Minister for Tourism – half a dozen floors below that of the Minister for the Economy. There's still room for improvement…

Lëtzebuerger Journal: When you became Minister for Culture in November 2023, you came as something of a surprise to many in the cultural scene. You came from local politics, had studied management and European governance, and weren't exactly known as a self-confessed culture vulture.

Eric Thill: There were certainly some people who were surprised at the time that a young, former mayor was becoming a minister. However, I never saw that as a negative, but rather as a positive. When you're new to a scene – in this case, the cultural sector – you first spend time listening and observing a great deal. As a result, you may later adopt a somewhat more objective approach to the various issues than someone who has been active in an industry or sector for decades.

One could certainly see it that way…

It takes six months to really settle in. To get to know all the cultural institutions. To really familiarise yourself with the issues. Meanwhile, I am 110 per cent Minister for Culture. I thoroughly enjoy it and it's a great honour to be Minister for Culture. Above all, however – and this is the greatest joy and the most exciting thing about it – it's a sector that's incredibly diverse. We have abstract art, photography, cultural heritage, archaeology, dance, music, the Luxembourgish language and much more. It is this diversity that means you see and experience something new every day. You learn something new every day.