The Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR; , , ) is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and mildly populist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. It has five seats in the sixty-seat

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, making it the fourth-largest party. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, the party received its first seat in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. The party was founded in 1987 as a

single-issue party Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. Political expression One weakness of such an approach is that effective political parties are usually coalitions of faction ...

from demanding equality of

state pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "defined benefit plan", wher ...

provision between

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s and all other citizens. In the 1989 election, it won four seats and established itself as a political force. It peaked at seven seats in 1999, due to mistrust of politicians failing to resolve the pensions gap, before falling back to three, then coming back up to four then five. Its significance on a national level makes it the most successful pensioners' party in western Europe. Political success has required the ADR to develop positions on all matters of public policy, developing an

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

, conservative platform. It has adopted

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

, filling a gap vacated by the Democratic Party.Dumont et al (2006), p. 67 It is the largest party in

to take a Euro-realist/softly Eurosceptic line, and is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe. The ADR wishes to implement Swiss-style direct democracy and advocates and promotes intensely the preservation and use of the

Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

in state institutions and society. The ADR is most often characterised as being a

national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...

party.

History

Emergence

The ADR has its roots in a demonstration in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

on 28 March 1987, held to protest at the disparities between the 5/6ths final salary scheme enjoyed by civil servants and the basic state pension received by everyone else. The large crowd, and the collection of 10,000 signatures for a petition demanding change, persuaded the organisers that there was widespread public support. The party was founded on 12 May 1987 as the 'Action Committee 5/6ths Pensions for Everyone' (''Aktiounskomitee 5/6 Pensioun fir jiddfereen''). In the 1989 election to the Chamber of Deputies, on 18 June 1989, the party achieved remarkable success by attracting votes from far beyond its core support base. Many Luxembourgers voted for the ADR as a

protest vote A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms ...

, allowing the ADR to register 7.3% of the vote, win 4 of the 60 seats, and come fourth. The spectacular triumph of the party in the election required the leadership to formulate a new party strategy. On 12 November 1989, the name was amended to 'Action Committee 5/6ths' (''Aktiounskomitee 5/6''), reflecting its increased attention to other concerns. The party lost one of its deputies, Josy Simon, when he defected to the Democratic Party in spring 1991. On 22 November 1992, the name was changed again, to 'Action Committee for Democracy and Pensions Justice' (''Aktiounskomitee fir Demokratie an Rentengerechtigkeet''). In December of the same year, the prominent deputy Fernand Rau defected from the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) after it broke its pledge to make him European Commissioner, increasing the ADR's representation back up to four. At the 10 October 1993 local elections, the ADR won 7 seats in communal councils. At the 1994 general election, the ADR got 9.0% of the vote and 5 seats, putting the ADR over the threshold required to qualify as a

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

, but the ADR fell to fifth place, behind the resurgent Greens.

Mainstream party

On 3 August 1998, a law was passed equalising pension provision between civil servants and other workers, fulfilling the ADR's original ''raison d'être'', but this did not prevent the ADR from strengthening its position further. In the 1999 legislative election, the party enjoyed increased success, winning 9.4% of the vote and 7 seats. The results put the ADR back into fourth place, but the Greens managed to hold on to their seat in the simultaneous

European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...

. October 1999 saw ADR candidates elected in ten communes, with two winning in each of

and

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

. The ADR lost two of its Chamber of Deputies seats at the 2004 general election, and its share of the vote fell to under 10%. One of ADR's hallmark positions is its

euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform ...

, and it is the only eurosceptic party in the Chamber of Deputies. It was the only parliamentary party that actively campaigned against the

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an Ratification, unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for ...

, which was put to a referendum and narrowly passed with 56.5% of voters in favour. On 2 April 2006 the name was changed once more, to its current name of 'Alternative Democratic Reform Party' (''Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei''). Significantly, for the first time, the name makes no reference to pension reform, signalling the eagerness of the ADR to further solidify its position as a major party in national politics. However, on 1 May, Aly Jaerling left the party to sit as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the Chamber of Deputies, complaining of the move away from campaigning for pensions. As a result of Jaerling's departure, the party lost its status as a caucus and now only qualifies as a 'group', threatening its future security. On 29 May 2008, the ADR deputies and Jaerling were the only members not to vote for the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

. In the 2009 Chamber election, the ADR held on to four seats (of which, 2 in

Sud Sud or SUD may refer to: Places * Sud (Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg constituency), a constituency in Luxembourg * Sud (department), an administrative subdivision of Haiti * Sud Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of ...

), but with a reduced vote share of 8.1%: its worst legislative election result since its first election, in 1989, whilst its vote share fell - albeit by less - in the simultaneous

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...

, to 7.4%. Jaerling, running for his own Citizens' List, failed to win a seat in either. This had been in spite of strong pre-election polling, the difference likely to be attributable to the financial crisis pushing voters to more familiar parties. On 8 June 2010, the ADR joined the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe, a Euro-Realist Europe-wide political party. In the snap-election of 2013, the ADR once again fell in their share of the vote, from 8.14% to 6.64%. However, they did manage to regain one seat, having fallen to only two MPs after the defections of Jacques-Yves Henckes and Jean Colombera. The former sat out the 2009-2013 legislative period as an independent, the latter founded the Party for Full Democracy. Roy Reding regained the mandate in the Centre district, putting the party back at 3 mandates. During the Constitutional Referendum Campaign of 2015, the ADR was the only party to explicitly campaign for the "3 x No" vote, thereby rejecting the opening of the right to vote for 16 year-olds and foreign residents, as well as rejecting the idea of limiting minister mandates to 10 years. This campaign was in stark contrast to the campaign of the largest party, the CSV, whose main message was to "be informed" when voting. With each question being rejected by between 70% and 80% of the electorate, this event represented a big political win for the ADR in face of the incumbent Government. 3 years after the Referendum, on 2 March 2018, the ADR announced that it would be co-operating with the citizen's movement Wee 2050 - Nee 2015, which had been founded pre-referendum to campaign for the "3 x No". The cooperation agreement involved Wee 2050 having up to 8 places on the ADR's electoral lists for the legislative election of October 2018, and ensured that the movement could remain relatively independent by not requiring the Wee 2050 candidates to be members of the ADR per se. In 2020-2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the ADR was the only political party in Luxembourg to oppose governmental measures like closing restaurants, claiming the restrictions infringed upon personal freedoms.

Ideology

The party was founded as a single-issue party, to introduce equality between private and public sector pensions. The focus on pension reform allowed it to make it the core campaign issue of all five elections in the first ten years of its formation. By 1998, the party had forced the government to accede almost all of its demands.Immergut et al (2007), p. 838 However, this success has not thwarted the ADR, and it has diversified its programme to cover all aspects of public policy. The party is a supporter of

, having positioned itself to fill what it say is a void left by the Democratic Party. The party is critical of public sector waste and the 'elitist' nature of public spending projects. The ADR is socially conservative. It is opposed to

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

. Luxembourgish former

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician Jean Asselborn has stated that as of the year 2020 ADR is not a far-right political party. The party places great importance on promoting the

, and its electoral success in the 1999 election pushed the CSV-DP government to make knowledge of it a criterion for

naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. It is currently also the only political party in Luxembourg that wishes to implement written laws also in Luxembourgish (together with French and German) and that wants Luxembourgish to be an officially recognized language of the European Union. While Maltese or Irish for example are fully recognized official languages of the EU, Luxembourgish is not. In 2005 politician Jean Asselborn of LSAP rejected a demand made by ADR to make Luxembourgish an official language of the European Union citing financial reasons and also that German and French being already official languages would be sufficient for the needs of Luxembourg. ADR is also opposed to

multiple citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

. The party is marked out from the other parties by being softly

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

, sharing this position with only the far left,Dumont et al (2006), p. 95 and being the country's most sovereigntist party.Maier et al (2004), p. 144 The leadership had supported the proposed

European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

, endorsing it in the 2004 European election, before changing its position in the spring of 2005 under pressure from party members. In its criticism of the EU, the party puts emphasis on the

democratic deficit A democratic deficit (or democracy deficit) occurs when ostensibly- democratic organizations or institutions (particularly governments) fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices or operation. Representative and linked ...

and transparency. However, in heavily

pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...

Luxembourg, the ADR had always fared worse in European elections than on national elections, which were held on the same day. This was the case only until 2014, when the party achieved a slightly better score than it had in the early 2013 national elections, managing to beat the LSAP in the majority of communes. The party is opposed to EU sanctions on Russia, suggesting that they harm Luxembourg's economy. The Shoura (the assembly of the Muslim community of the Grand Duchy) stated in a 2013 review that "of all political parties in Luxembourg, ADR is the party that appears most hostile to Muslims, true to its clichés that

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is not soluble in democracy. ADR furthermore feels obliged to mention a possible prohibition of the burqa, and that

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

or courts based on Sharia law as not compatible with European law and values." Furthermore, in its declaration of principles it has outlined, among others, the following priorities: *

Human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and individual freedoms * Parliamentarian democracy in form of a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

* Implementation of

direct democratic Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy model which occurs in the major ...

plebiscite of the citizens on important issues (

referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

) *

Freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

Judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

* Equal treatment between men and women *

Social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

* Preservation and promotion of the Luxembourgish language (and giving it the status of an official language of the European Union) * Against discrimination and for equal use of Luxembourgish and German in contrast to French in state institutions and society, and thus preservation of multilingualism in Luxembourg * Seeing Luxembourg as having heritage in Greco-Roman civilization with

Judeo-Christian The term ''Judeo-Christian'' is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's recognition of Jewish scripture to constitute the Old Testament of the Christian Bibl ...

traditions * Seeing Luxembourg as a refuge for politically and religiously persecuted people * Integration of refugees and immigrants into Luxembourgish society by respecting Luxembourgish, European and democratic values * For the creation a Common European Defense policy * A commitment to a green and environmentally friendly policy and the ethical treatment of animals

Election results

Chamber of Deputies

ImageSize = width:350 height:150 PlotArea = width:300 height:125 left:25 bottom:20 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:ADR value:rgb(0,0.67,0.90) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0 PlotData= bar:Seats color:ADR width:23 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1989 color:ADR from:start till:4 text:4 align:center bar:1994 color:ADR from:start till:5 text:5 align:center bar:1999 color:ADR from:start till:7 text:7 align:center bar:2004 color:ADR from:start till:5 text:5 align:center bar:2009 color:ADR from:start till:4 text:4 align:center bar:2013 color:ADR from:start till:3 text:3 align:center bar:2018 color:ADR from:start till:4 text:4 align:center bar:2023 color:ADR from:start till:5 text:5 align:center ImageSize = width:350 height:150 PlotArea = width:300 height:125 left:25 bottom:20 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:ADR value:rgb(0,0.67,0.90) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:150 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:50 start:0 PlotData= bar:Seats color:ADR width:23 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1989 color:ADR from:start till:79 text:7.9 align:center bar:1994 color:ADR from:start till:90 text:9.0 align:center bar:1999 color:ADR from:start till:113 text:11.3 align:center bar:2004 color:ADR from:start till:100 text:10.0 align:center bar:2009 color:ADR from:start till:113 text:11.3 align:center bar:2013 color:ADR from:start till:66 text:6.6 align:center bar:2018 color:ADR from:start till:83 text:8.3 align:center bar:2023 color:ADR from:start till:93 text:9.3 align:center

European Parliament

Organization

Leaders

Party presidents

* Gaston Gibéryen (1987–1989) * John Bram (1989–1991) * Robert Mehlen (1991 – 2013) * Fernand Kartheiser (2013) * Jean Schoos (2013 – 2022) * Fred Keup (2022-2024) * Alexandra Schoos (2024-)

Elected representatives

Since its formation, the ADR has had thirteen deputies in the

. Its five current deputies are given in bold. * Josy Simon ( Center: 1989–1991) * Fernand Rau ( Center: 1992–1994) * Fernand Greisen ( Center: 1999–2004) * Aly Jaerling (

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

: 1999–2006) * Jean-Pierre Koepp (

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

: 1989–2009) * Robert Mehlen (

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

: 1989–2009) * Jacques-Yves Henckes ( Center: 1994–2013) * Jean Colombera (

: 1999–2004, 2009–2013) * Gaston Gibéryen (

: 1989–2020) * Roy Reding ( Center: 2013–2023) * Fernand Kartheiser (

: 2009–present) * Jeff Engelen (

: 2018-) * Fred Keup (

: 2020-) * Tom Weidig ( Center: 2023-) * Alexandra Schoos (

: 2023-)

Political base

The ADR's primary political base are the CSV's 'traditional, rural and rightist' voters. Although the ADR is seen to take votes from the right wing of the CSV, more ADR voters declare themselves to be

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

than either the CSV or DP. Much of the party's support is in the north of the country,Dumont et al (2006), p. 124 where the ADR received its strongest support in the 1999 (16.7%), 2004 (14.7%) and 2009 Chamber elections (10.3%). In 2013 however it received its highest share of the vote in the Est constituency. Due to the party's original purpose of pension equality, the party's electoral base is pensioners. However, disproportionately many people under the age of 24 also see the ADR in a positive light. ADR is particularly popular on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, despite the party leadership's lack of interest in the medium, due in part to its popularity amongst young people. The party is most popular amongst people earning less than €30,000, and has attracted support from the part of the CSV's core electorate that have been left out of recent economic growth. As with the CSV and LSAP, the ADR is supported by people with less education. The party is backed by the third-largest general trade union in the country, the small Neutral Union of Luxembourg Workers (NGL), which has been the driving force behind the ADR.Immergut et al (2007), p. 815 The ADR has also been close to the Luxembourg Association of Retired and Invalid People (LRIV), which formerly backed the Communist Party. The party has used local celebrities, such as Jean-Pierre Koepp in Nord, to boost its appeal.Immergut et al (2007), p. 849

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

*
Alternative Democratic Reform Party official website
{{Authority control Conservative parties in Luxembourg Pensioners' parties Nationalist parties in Luxembourg Eurosceptic parties in Luxembourg European Conservatives and Reformists Party member parties Political parties established in 1987 1987 establishments in Luxembourg National conservative parties Social conservative parties Right-wing populist parties Luxembourgian nationalism