Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party

The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei, French: Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois, German: Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei), abbreviated to LSAP or POSL,[6] is a social-democratic,[1][2][3][4] pro-European[3] political party in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party

Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei
LeaderFranz Fayot
Founded5 July 1902 (historical)
1945 (modern)
Headquarters68, rue de Gasperich
Luxembourg
Youth wingLuxembourg Socialist Youths
IdeologySocial democracy[1][2][3][4]
Political positionCentre-left[3][4][5]
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
International affiliationProgressive Alliance
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats[3]
Colours     Red
Chamber of Deputies
10 / 60
European Parliament
1 / 6
Local councils
155 / 600
Website
www.lsap.lu

The LSAP is the third-largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, having won 10 of 60 seats at the 2018 general election, and has one seat in the European Parliament. The LSAP is currently part of the Bettel–Schneider government, with Etienne Schneider of the LSAP serving as Deputy Prime Minister. Since January 2019, the party's President has been Franz Fayot.

Primarily social-democratic, the party has a strong working class identity, with a democratic socialist faction[7] It is close to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, the country's largest trade union centre, but they have no formal links.[7] The LSAP is particularly strong in the south of the country,[7] controlling most of the mayoralties in the large towns of the Red Lands. It is affiliated with the Socialist International, the Progressive Alliance, and the Party of European Socialists.

History

The party was formed on 5 July 1902 as the Social Democratic Party. Left-wing elements split in 1905 to create the Social Democratic Workers' Party. These were both re-united in 1912. In 1916, the party was renamed to 'Socialist Party', part of the Second International.

On 2 January 1921, communist elements split to create the Communist Party of Luxembourg. The Socialist Party was renamed the "Luxembourg Workers' Party" in 1924, and was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[8] On 5 November 1937, the Party joined the government for the first time, in a coalition under Prime Minister Pierre Dupong.

Post-war

The party was reformed after the Second World War as the 'Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party', in the mould of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom,[9] where the government had been exiled. In the first election after the war, in 1945, the LSAP was the big loser, falling to 26% of the vote, but remained in the National Union Government, along with all other parties.[9] In 1947, the party started its process of re-building itself, and it managed to join a coalition government (1951-1959 in the Dupong-Bodson and Bech Bodson governments, and 1964–1968 in the Werner-Cravatte government). The discussions over the party's direction split the LSAP again. On 2 May 1970, Henry Cravatte was ejected as President by a trades union-led coup. In March 1971, centrist elements, led by Cravatte, split to create the Social Democratic Party.[10] Those who left included 6 Deputies and most of the party leadership.

However, the LSAP could recover by 1974 and joined the DP in a centre-left coalition (the Thorn-Vouel-Berg government), which enacted important social reforms: judicial system reforms (including a humanisation of the penal system), introduction of a fifth week of holiday, general introduction of the 40-hour week, the salary index, reform of unemployment benefits. This did not prevent an electoral defeat in 1979. In this legislative period, the LSAP held their famous energy conference, and decided a moratorium for the atomic power station of Remerschen. This was the definitive end of project.

In 1984, the LSAP were re-united with most of the Social Democratic Party (some members joined the Christian Social People's Party).

Recent history

Following the 2004 general election, the LSAP served in the government of Luxembourg as junior partner to the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) under Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in the first Juncker–Asselborn government, with the LSAP's Jean Asselborn serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The coalition with the CSV continued as the second Juncker–Asselborn government following the 2009 general election, which lasted until July 2013 when the LSAP withdrew its support from the government, necessitating early elections.[11]

Following the 2013 general election, the LSAP has been in a three-party Bettel–Schneider government with the Democratic Party and The Greens, with the Democratic Party's Xavier Bettel serving as Prime Minister and Etienne Schneider of the LSAP as Deputy Prime Minister.

Election results

Below are charts of the results that the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party has secured in the Chamber of Deputies at each election. Timelines showing the number of seats and percentage of votes won are on the right.

Year Votes Seats Cabinet
Votes % Place Elected seats Seats after Place
1919 231,672 15.6 2nd
8 / 48
 2nd
1922[lower-alpha 1] 73,963 10.7 4th
4 / 25
6 / 48
 3rd
1925 253,256 16.2 2nd
8 / 47
 2nd
1928[lower-alpha 1] 352,970 32.6 2nd
10 / 28
12 / 52
 2nd
1931[lower-alpha 1] 153,805 19.2 2nd
5 / 27
15 / 54
 2nd
1934[lower-alpha 1] 404,729 29.4 2nd
10 / 29
14 / 54
 2nd
1937[lower-alpha 1] 238,665 24.7 2nd
7 / 26
18 / 55
 2nd Yes
1945 569,025 23.4 2nd
11 / 51
 2nd Yes
1948[lower-alpha 1] 481,755 37.8 1st
10 / 26
15 / 51
 2nd No
1951[lower-alpha 1] 372,177 33.8 2nd
9 / 26
19 / 52
 2nd Yes
1954 831,836 35.1 2nd
17 / 52
 2nd Yes
1959 848,523 34.9 2nd
17 / 52
 2nd No
1964 999,843 37.7 1st
21 / 56
 2nd Yes
1968 837,555 32.3 2nd
18 / 56
 2nd No
1974 875,881 29.2 2nd
17 / 59
 2nd Yes
1979 787,863 24.3 2nd
14 / 59
 3rd No
1984 1,104,740 33.6 2nd
21 / 64
 2nd Yes
1989 840,094 26.2 2nd
18 / 60
 2nd Yes
1994 797,450 25.4 2nd
17 / 60
 2nd Yes
1999 695,718 22.3 3rd
13 / 60
 3rd No
2004 784,048 23.4 2nd
14 / 60
 2nd Yes
2009 695,830 21.6 2nd
13 / 60
 2nd Yes
2013 664,586 20.2 2nd
13 / 60
 2nd Yes
2018 621,332 17.6 2nd
10 / 60
 3rd Yes
  1. Partial election. Only half of the seats were up for renewal.

Presidents

The formal leader of the party is the President. However, often, a government minister will be the most important member of the party, as Jean Asselborn is now. Below is a list of Presidents of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party since 1945.

Footnotes
  1. Hans Slomp (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  2. Dimitri Almeida (27 April 2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  3. "Luxembourg". Europe Elects.
  4. Xenophon Contiades (20 December 2012). Engineering Constitutional Change: A Comparative Perspective on Europe, Canada and the USA. Routledge. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-136-21077-8. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  5. Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  6. LSAP is more commonly used, although the French POSL is also mandated by the party's statutes. "LSAP party statutes" (in French). Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party. 17 March 2002. Archived from the original on 12 January 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
  7. Hearl (1987), p. 255
  8. Kowalski, Werner. Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 308
  9. Thewes (2006), p. 123
  10. Lucardie, A.P.M. "De Stiefkinderen van de Sociaal-Democrati" (PDF) (in Dutch). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Luxembourg Prime Minister Juncker calls for new elections amid scandal". Deutsche Welle. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. "Les présidents du LSAP depuis 1945". Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2010.

References
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