Prime Minister and president of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) Luc Frieden has called for faster housing approval procedures and said Luxembourg's wage indexation system will not be changed during the current legislative term.
Speaking to RTL journalist Annick Goerens during a summer interview at the Kyosk open-air venue outside the Coque sports centre, Frieden also addressed climate change, arguing that individuals, businesses, and the state must all contribute to a more sustainable society.
His comments came after smoke from a fire in Belgium spread across Luxembourg and amid increasingly frequent extreme weather events throughout Europe, including heatwaves, droughts, and heavy rainfall.
"Everyone must contribute to living and working in a responsible, sustainable way", Frieden said. He pointed to greater use of renewable energy, more thoughtful travel choices, changes in business practices, and government incentives as essential elements of the transition.
He acknowledged that adapting would be difficult because society has become accustomed to a certain level of comfort and a particular way of life. The transition, he said, would therefore need to happen gradually.
On Luxembourg's housing crisis, Frieden identified lengthy administrative procedures as a key obstacle to increasing supply.
"It simply takes too long between the moment someone has a project and the day it is completed", he said, adding that the government had introduced measures to accelerate the process and that he wanted the necessary legislation adopted more quickly.
Frieden firmly ruled out changes to the automatic wage indexation system during the current legislative period. Both coalition parties – the CSV and the Democratic Party (DP) – had pledged before the election not to alter the system, he said, and reform was therefore excluded from the coalition agreement.
The conversation later turned to Frieden's personal life. He said he had already spent time hiking in the mountains during his summer holiday, although he kept his phone in his backpack and remained reachable.
"No, and I don't need to", he said when asked whether a prime minister could fully switch off. Remaining reachable reassured him, he explained, and allowed him to stay informed through calls and emails with government colleagues.
Asked what he would most like to learn more about, Frieden chose history.
"Everything we experience today is the result of historical developments that influence the future", he said. "If you know history, you can help shape the future more effectively."
