Christian democrats, liberals announce 2-party coalition to run Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Luxembourg’s Christian Democrats and free-trade liberals announced a two-party center-right coalition on Thursday that will run the Grand Duchy for the next five years under Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

The Christian Democrat CSV of Frieden won 21 seats in the 60-member legislature in October elections and the DP liberals of outgoing Prime Minister Xavier Bettel had 14, giving the two parties a comfortable majority in parliament.

Luxembourg’s three-party center-left coalition lost its decade-long hold on power in the elections, mostly because of a poor showing by the Green party. It had only a one-seat majority in government.

“We have a solid majority compared to those of the past years,” Frieden said. Bettel will continue in government as foreign minister.

Ten years ago, Bettel succeeded Jean-Claude Juncker, the Christian Democrat who was Europe’s longest-serving democratically elected leader at the time. The CSV Christian Democrats were left uncharacteristically on the sidelines for the past 10 years, despite being the single biggest party.