As an MP, you have to give 200%. Ben Streff said as much in January, speaking on RTL radio. At the time, the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) politician complained that some socialists in the Chamber were not engaged enough with the party's work and failed to show a presence on the ground. Streff stepped down as LSAP party manager at the start of this year and also gave up his role as president of the East constituency.
He has sat on the municipal council in Berdorf since 2023, and he intends to stay there, even with a new challenge now on the horizon. With the departure of former LSAP minister Paulette Lenert, who is moving from the Chamber to the Council of State, a seat in the Chamber is opening up in the largest opposition party. It will be filled by the next best-placed candidate in the East constituency, Ben Streff. The 31-year-old, who has been active with the Socialists for 17 years, says a mandate was never his main goal, but that he would gladly give 300% as a future MP.
Streff said as a 14 year-old freshly interested in politics he had not set out to enter the Chamber, but rather that he wanted to change something and stand up for equal opportunities. His wish, he explained, was to do something for people, to take part in active politics and to be part of the LSAP. Being among people on the ground is what makes him happy, he said, and standing up for citizens is his number one priority. He described his approach as doing politics for citizens rather than representing grand ideologies or remaining in the abstract and theoretical, preferring instead to implement concrete, practical measures pragmatically. He intends to approach his next chapter in the Chamber the same way, standing up for the people and citizens, and for the East constituency, which he feels sometimes is left out.
Streff is expected to be sworn in as the new LSAP deputy in the week of 8 June.
What interests Ben Streff outside of politics, and what he loves about his hometown, will feature in a report on Thursday evening's TV news programme on RTL.
