Luxembourg PM Bettel faces exit after election defeat

Luxembourg’s center-right Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) emerged as the clear winner in Sunday’s general election, while Prime Minister Xavier Bettel’s ruling liberal coalition suffered major losses, failing to secure a clear majority.

The CSV ranked first with 29 percent of the vote, winning 21 out of 60 seats.

The outgoing coalition, made up of the Greens, the Socialists and the liberal Democratic Party, only secured 29 seats, falling narrowly short of a majority as the Greens sustained the loss of five seats.

The results put the CSV in a strong position to lead a coalition government, with negotiations set to begin as soon as Monday.

CSV leader Luc Frieden hailed his party’s victory on Sunday night, saying that “voters voted massively for a different government and a different policy,” according to local media reports.

“They put the CSV in a position to play a key role in the formation of that government,” Frieden added.

Bettel, whose Democratic Party secured 14 seats and who could soon join the ranks of former European leaders aiming for a top Brussels job, said he was willing to remain in government even without being prime minister.

“For me, it’s not the title that counts, what counts is … the program you want to do, not the job,” the outgoing prime minister said.

The right-wing Alternative Democratic Reform party (ARD) also made gains, winning an extra seat and becoming the fourth political force in the country, in an election where security-related issues were high on voters’ agenda.