WORLD
Juncker Loses Out as Liberal Asked to Form Luxembourg Government
Baku, October 26 (AZERTAC). Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union's longest serving elected leader, could be facing his political exit after the country's head of state, the grand duke, asked an opposition leader to try to form a coalition government.
Mr. Juncker, considered one of Europe's shrewdest and best-connected politicians, has been prime minister since 1995. His Christian Democrat, CSV, party won the most seats in last Sunday's election but its share of the vote dropped five percentage points. The party was left with 23 seats, well short of a majority.
After Sunday's vote Mr. Juncker said he wanted to try to form a new coalition government but following discussions among the three main opposition parties, the grand duke asked Liberal leader Xavier Bettel, whose party surged in last week's poll, to try to form a government.
Mr. Bettel's center-right Democratic Party and the Socialists both picked up 13 seats in parliament and the Greens gained six. Together, they would hold 32 of Luxembourg's 60-seat lower house.
Luxembourg is one of the EU's smallest and wealthiest nations and Mr. Juncker has long been a senior player in European politics. As head of the Eurogroup of euro-zone finance ministers from 2005 until January 2013, Mr. Juncker played a key role knitting together the region's response to the economic and debt crisis before quitting, he said, for health reasons.
Still, Mr. Juncker's political future may not be over yet. Talks between the three opposition parties could prove difficult. The Christian Democrats have led Luxembourg's government for all but a few of the years since World War II.
There has also long been talk that Mr. Juncker may seek a senior EU position when a new EU executive takes over following European Parliament elections. However Mr. Juncker denied last Sunday he was interested in a European post, saying he saw his future in Luxembourg.
Mr. Juncker called early elections in July after his junior coalition party, the Socialists, said the prime minister should take responsibility for a scandal in the country's secret services.