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Juncker re-confirmed as Luxembourg PM
Europe’s longest-serving head of government, Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, was on Monday confirmed by his party as prime minister.
Europe’s longest-serving head of government, Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, was on Monday confirmed by his party as prime minister.
Already in office for 14 years, Juncker easily won a fresh mandate in legislative elections in June when his centre-right Social-Christian CSV party won 39 percent of the vote.
The 54-year-old renounced his dual role as Luxembourg’s finance minister, delegating that portfolio to former budget and treasury minister Luc Frieden, but has repeatedly said he intended to remain at the head of the Eurogroup -- an informal grouping of eurozone finance ministers.
The main new piece of legislation due to be enacted under the new government’s programme will be the legalising of same-sex marriages, with the abortion law also in line to be relaxed.
Juncker is promising to keep income tax capped and not to reform welfare payments, notably state retirement rights among the country’s 500,000 population.
