No, driverless vehicles won’t “cost jobs”

The FNCTTFEL – the union for railway and other public transport service workers in Luxembourg – said in a public statement last week that it was worried about the introduction of driverless vehicles on the towns of Contern and Pfaffenthal. The union warned that hundreds, even thousands of jobs could be at stake, particularly if […]

How useful is government spending on higher education?

One-hundred-and-seventeen million euros. That’s the amount of money Luxembourg’s taxpayers contribute to subsidise students who, under certain conditions, pursue a degree in higher education. This system of providing people with generous grants has been applied in the Grand Duchy for many years now, and is a consequence of a policy that began in France under […]

Luxembourg’s campaign-driven language debate

As Luxembourg’s national election fast approaches, the Democratic Party (DP) is running on the campaign slogan “Zukunft op Lëtzebuergesch” (“Future in Luxembourgish”). The Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), meanwhile, uses “Lëtz speak about politics” – “lëtz” being the first syllable of the Luxembourgish word for the language, which sounds similar to the English “let’s”). All […]

The case against compulsory voting

Together with a handful of countries including Belgium and Brazil, Luxembourg has laws on the books that make participating in parliamentary elections mandatory. Luxembourgish citizens, before they vote on 14 October, will receive a convocation de vote, or a ‘call to vote’, which explains to them that all citizens who did not already vote via […]

Nuclear energy is safe, yet Luxembourgish parties reject it

Luxembourg’s electoral debates have missed the ball on energy policy and energy security. When Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula in early 2014, the last parliamentary election was already over, and four years have passed since. However, the relationship between the European Union and Russia is far from improving, even though many member states are dependent […]

The “free school books” aren’t free

The Luxembourgish government prides itself in its education policy, which, on a practical level, attempts make every aspect surrounding education “free”. Children starting school this month will be the first to have access to school books free at the point of use. They also benefit from 20 “free hours” of pre-school and “free” public transport […]

[ZOOM] Paralympische Zukunft

Dieser Artikel wurde für die luxemburgische Tageszeitung “Lëtzebuerger Journal” geschrieben. Die Rubrik “ZOOM” greift junge, alternative und unternehmerische Themen auf und bringt sie den Lesern näher. (Text in veränderter Form im Print) Rollstuhlrennen stehen Athleten mit jeder qualifizierten Art von Behinderung, Amputation, Rückenmarksverletzungen, zerebraler Lähmung und Sehbehinderung (in Kombination mit einer anderen Behinderung) offen. Die […]

Are young candidates worth the hype?

You’ve seen them by now: large posters filling the cities and countryside of the Grand Duchy, proudly presenting the numerous faces running for parliament. And, as with every election cycle, the political parties are bragging about the presence of ‘young’ candidates (less than 35 years of age) on their ballots. Media outlets then calculate the […]