Lydie Polfer went against her own party

A political scandal has erupted in Luxembourg: the mayor of the capital, Lydie Polfer, has openly opposed an initiative by the government and her own Democratic Party (DP), saying that the country does not need a national register of buildings and housing (RNBL) and a register of affordable housing (RENLA). These projects, promoted by the Ministry of Housing under the leadership of her fellow party member Claude Meisch, are part of the coalition agreement.

The RNBL register should make it possible to identify empty houses, which are soon to be taxed. However, Polfer believes this idea is flawed. According to her, the state first needs a clear legal definition of what exactly is considered vacant housing. Only then will cities be able to introduce an effective tax on their own. The national base, on the contrary, will turn out to be a "Sisyphean labour": a bureaucratic mechanism that requires the employment of many officials and does not create a single new square metre.

The mayor's position is a de facto challenge to the government coalition, as it is the DP who is in charge of housing policy. Pölfer emphasises that the priority should not be to account for empty buildings, but to build affordable housing.

Nevertheless, she recognises that if the law is passed, the capital will be obliged to apply it in the same way as all other municipalities. The question remains as to how far Polfer is prepared to go in her opposition - will she vote against the bill in parliament?