A 2028 Reform Agenda for the Future of Social Democracy

Personal public commentary by Fernand Weimerskirch

In recent months, I had the opportunity to publish six personal opinion pieces in the Tageblatt. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the editorial team for giving these reflections a platform.

These six texts are not to be understood as individual, independent positions. They form a coherent series in which I delve into various aspects of an idea that is particularly close to my heart: a 2028 reform agenda for the LSAP and a forward-looking Social Democracy in Luxembourg.

The starting point is a fundamental conviction: social justice, economic viability and democratic capacity for action must not be pitted against one another. A strong economy is an essential prerequisite for a strong welfare state.

At the same time, good education, social security, fair opportunities and social cohesion are crucial foundations of a successful economy.

Social democracy must think about both sides of this reality.

In the six contributions, I have therefore addressed several questions that are closely interconnected:

How can the LSAP shape its political renewal? How does it connect its core values with the economic, social and technological changes of our time? How do we develop concrete, realistic and affordable reforms from political convictions? How do we strengthen Europe's capacity to act?

And how do we make political decisions more understandable and comprehensible for citizens?

These questions have one thing in common: good politics needs more than just the right values and good intentions. It needs a clear direction, well-thought-out solutions and the courage to set priorities.

That is why I understand a 2028 reform agenda not as an additional party programme or a collection of individual demands. Above all, I see it as a working method that connects the core values of the LSAP with a concrete political reform perspective.

This involves analysing societal problems based on reliable data, discussing various solutions, making their costs and impacts transparent, and ultimately making political decisions that can also be implemented.

It is particularly important to me that the major questions of the future are not treated in isolation. Housing, employment, health, education, the climate, tax policy and the financing of the welfare state are all closely interconnected. A reform in one area has consequences for others.

A credible social-democratic policy must explain these interconnections and take them into account in a coherent overall concept.

I expressly welcome that the LSAP has already launched a process of programmatic renewal and the involvement of members and interested citizens. I understand my reflections as a constructive contribution to this process.

Participation is an essential prerequisite for this. However, what will also be crucial is how ideas and discussions lead to concrete reform proposals, and how their implementation and financing are prepared.

For me, that is the purpose of a 2028 reform agenda: from principle, through discussion and analysis, to a concrete, understandable and accountable political decision.

With this series, I have not wanted to provide ready-made answers or to pre-empt the work of others. I have wanted to raise questions, highlight connections and support a discussion which I consider important for the future of the LSAP and our country.

This discussion is aimed at the members and officials of the LSAP, but also at all citizens who are interested in a socially just, economically strong and democratically functional society.

The future of Social Democracy does not depend solely on what it promises. It depends above all on whether it can convincingly explain how it intends to realise its promises.

The six contributions in the Tageblatt are, in my understanding, six stages of this one consideration. They are intended to be a stimulus for a further substantive, open and forward-looking debate.

Fernand Weimerskirch

Personal political opinion