David Wagner, Member of Parliament for The Left (déi Lénk), addressed his upcoming departure from the Chamber of Deputies in an interview with RTL on Tuesday morning.
He explained that, contrary to what some might think, he is at peace with stepping down this autumn as part of his party’s rotation principle, which sees deputies hand over their seats halfway through the parliamentary term to allow new members to gain experience.
Along with fellow MP Marc Baum, Wagner will be making way for Ana Correia da Veiga and Gary Diederich, two younger party members who have already gained experience at a municipal level.
Wagner admitted to feeling "a certain frustration" about leaving after only three years, as there are still many things he would like to accomplish.
However, he also expressed relief, noting the intensity of the work, particularly given that The Left holds only two parliamentary seats. He is looking forward to a calmer period with less pressure, and intends to continue supporting the party's work in the background, together with Marc Baum.
Reflecting on his time in parliament, Wagner refrained from judging his own performance, insisting that assessment should come from others. Nevertheless, he believes The Left has successfully set several issues in motion and played a significant role in shifting the Chamber's agenda to the left.
He cited the party's contribution to anchoring the right to abortion in Luxembourgish law as a key achievement, and highlighted their commitment to taking issues such as climate change seriously, in contrast to parties like the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR), which he accused of trivialising such topics. For Wagner, public debate must focus on serious social and employment issues, as well as the challenges young people face.
Wagner revealed that The Left has attracted many new members in recent months, especially young people who have become aware of systemic problems and are increasingly critical of capitalism as a system. He added that in light of the party’s weaker results in recent elections, The Left is currently reworking its strategy.
The key points of this new approach are expected to be adopted at a party congress in December, after which the party will consider how to implement these changes, which may also involve amending its statutes.
