DP, CSV strike deal to extend Polfer reign into third decade
Luxembourg City's coalition parties, DP and CSV, reach agreement to remain in office
Lydie Polfer will remain Luxembourg City’s mayor for another six years as expected, extending her reign in charge of the capital into its third decade, after Polfer's party struck a coalition agreement on Thursday.
The coalition between the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and the centre-right Christian Democrats (CSV) will continue in office, Polfer and Serge Wilmes, the city's first alderman and local CSV leader, told a press conference. The extension of the coalition agreement had been widely predicted following the local elections earlier this month.
Polfer, who previously ran the capital between 1982 and 1999 and has been mayor since 2013, saw off a challenge from Wilmes and the Greens' Francois Benoy, who both ran to replace her as mayor. The city mayor received over 15,000 votes, ahead of Wilmes' 11,700 and Benoy's 9,400.
If she completes the six-year term she will have served for over three decades as Luxembourg City mayor.
The DP received more than 31% of the vote in the city - up from 30% in 2017 - finishing first ahead of the CSV at 20% and the Greens at 18%, both of which lost ground compared to the last vote.
Voters rewarded Polfer, who ran on a law and order manifesto which previously earned her the nickname 'Iron Lydie', despite the central government overturning a controversial begging ban that she spearheaded.
Aside from Polfer and Wilmes, five other councillors - three from the DP and two from the CSV who secured the most votes - have also been appointed as aldermen. They are the DP’s Simone Beissel, Patrick Goldschmidt and Corinne Cahen – who resigned as a government minister to take up the post – and the CSV’s Maurice Bauer and Paul Galles.
The allocation of aldermen portfolios - the council equivalent of central government ministries - will be determined once the new councillors have been formally sworn in in mid-July, the parties said.
