Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | LSAP POSL |
| President | Francine Closener &Dan Biancalana |
| General Secretary | Sacha Pulli |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Headquarters | 68, rue de Gasperich Luxembourg City |
| Youth wing | Luxembourg Socialist Youths |
| Women's wing | Luxembourg Socialist Women |
| Ideology | Social democracy[5] |
| Political position | Centre-left[7] |
| Regional affiliation | SGD/SVD[8] |
| European affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
| European Parliament group | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats[3] |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance |
| Colours | Red |
| Chamber of Deputies | 12 / 60 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 6 |
| Local councils | 154 / 722 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 7 |
| Website | |
| lsap.lu | |
TheLuxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (Luxembourgish:Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei,French:Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois,German:Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei), abbreviated toLSAP orPOSL,[9] is asocial democratic,[1][2][3][4]pro-European[3]political party inLuxembourg. The LSAP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
The LSAP is the third-largest party in theChamber of Deputies, having won 11 of 60 seats at the2023 general election, and has one seat in theEuropean Parliament. Since March 2022, the party's President have beenFrancine Closener andDan Biancalana.[10]
The party is close to theConfederation of Independent Trade Unions, the country's largesttrade union centre, but they have no formal links.[11] The LSAP is particularly strong in the south of the country,[11] controlling most of the mayoralties in the large towns of theRed Lands. It was a member of theSocialist International, and is currently a member of theProgressive Alliance and theParty of European Socialists.
The party was formed on 5 July 1902 as theSocial 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 toSocialist Party, part of theSecond International.
On 2 January 1921, communist elements split to create theCommunist Party of Luxembourg. The Socialist Party was renamed theLuxembourg Workers' Party in 1924, and was a member of theLabour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[12] On 5 November 1937, the Party joined the government for the first time, in a coalition underPrime MinisterPierre Dupong.
The party was reformed after theSecond World War as the 'Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party', in the mould of theLabour Party in theUnited Kingdom,[13] where the government had been exiled. In thefirst election after the war, in 1945, the LSAP was the big loser, falling to 26% of the vote, but remained in theNational Union Government, along with all other parties.[13] In 1947, the party started its process of re-building itself, and it managed to join a coalition government (1951–1959 in theDupong-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 theSocial Democratic Party.[14] Those who left included 6 Deputies and most of the party leadership.
However, the LSAP recovered by 1974 and joined the DP in a centre-left coalition (theThorn-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 the project.
In 1984, the LSAP were re-united with most of the Social Democratic Party (some members joined theChristian Social People's Party).
Following the2004 general election, the LSAP served in the government of Luxembourg as junior partner to theChristian Social People's Party (CSV) under Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker in thefirst Juncker–Asselborn government, with the LSAP'sJean Asselborn serving asDeputy Prime Minister andMinister for Foreign Affairs. The coalition with the CSV continued as thesecond Juncker–Asselborn government following the2009 general election, which lasted until July 2013 when the LSAP withdrew its support from the government, necessitating early elections.[15]
Following the2013 general election, the LSAP was in a three-partyBettel–Schneider government with theDemocratic Party andThe Greens, with the Democratic Party'sXavier Bettel serving as prime minister andEtienne Schneider of the LSAP as deputy prime minister. Since 2023, they have been in opposition again.
| Election | Votes | % | Elected seats | Seats after | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 231,672 | 15.6 (#2) | 8 / 48 | New | Opposition | |
| 1922[a] | 73,963 | 10.7 (#4) | 4 / 25 | 6 / 48 |  2 | Opposition |
| 1925 | 253,256 | 16.2 (#2) | 8 / 47 |  | Opposition | |
| 1928[a] | 352,970 | 32.6 (#2) | 10 / 28 | 12 / 52 |  4 | Opposition |
| 1931[a] | 153,805 | 19.2 (#2) | 5 / 27 | 15 / 54 | 3 | Opposition |
| 1934[a] | 404,729 | 29.4 (#2) | 10 / 29 | 14 / 54 | 1 | Opposition |
| 1937[a] | 238,665 | 24.7 (#2) | 7 / 26 | 18 / 55 | 4 | Coalition |
| 1945 | 569,025 | 23.4 (#2) | 11 / 51 | 7 | Coalition | |
| 1948[a] | 481,755 | 37.8 (#1) | 10 / 26 | 15 / 51 | 4 | Opposition |
| 1951[a] | 372,177 | 33.8 (#2) | 9 / 26 | 19 / 52 | 4 | Coalition |
| 1954 | 831,836 | 35.1 (#2) | 17 / 52 | 2 | Coalition | |
| 1959 | 848,523 | 34.9 (#2) | 17 / 52 | | Opposition | |
| 1964 | 999,843 | 37.7 (#1) | 21 / 56 | 4 | Coalition | |
| 1968 | 837,555 | 32.3 (#2) | 18 / 56 | 3 | Opposition | |
| 1974 | 875,881 | 29.2 (#2) | 17 / 59 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 1979 | 787,863 | 24.3 (#2) | 14 / 59 | 3 | Opposition | |
| 1984 | 1,104,740 | 33.6 (#2) | 21 / 64 | 7 | Coalition | |
| 1989 | 840,094 | 26.2 (#2) | 18 / 60 | 3 | Coalition | |
| 1994 | 797,450 | 25.4 (#2) | 17 / 60 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 1999 | 695,718 | 22.3 (#3) | 13 / 60 | 4 | Opposition | |
| 2004 | 784,048 | 23.4 (#2) | 14 / 60 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2009 | 695,830 | 21.6 (#2) | 13 / 60 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2013 | 664,586 | 20.2 (#2) | 13 / 60 | | Coalition | |
| 2018 | 621,332 | 17.6 (#2) | 10 / 60 | 3 | Coalition | |
| 2023 | 711,890 | 18.9 (#2) | 11 / 60 | 1 | Opposition | |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Victor Abens | 211,106 | 21.66 (#3) | 1 / 6 | New | SOC |
| 1984 | 296,382 | 29.93 (#2) | 2 / 6 | 1 | ||
| 1989 | Jacques Poos | 252,920 | 25.45 (#2) | 2 / 6 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 251,500 | 24.80 (#2) | 2 / 6 | 0 | PES | |
| 1999 | Alex Bodry | 239,048 | 23.58 (#2) | 2 / 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Jean Asselborn | 240,484 | 22.06 (#2) | 1 / 6 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Robert Goebbels | 219,349 | 19.48 (#2) | 1 / 6 | 0 | S&D |
| 2014 | Mady Delvaux-Stehres | 137,504 | 11.73 (#4) | 1 / 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Nicolas Schmit | 152,900 | 12.19 (#4) | 1 / 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | Marc Angel | 300,879 | 21.72 (#2) | 1 / 6 | 0 |
The formal leader of the party is the president. However, often, a government minister will be the most important member of the party, asJean Asselborn is now. Below is a list of presidents of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party since 1945.
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