The behaviour of Luxembourg’s voting population and their opinions regarding various social issues has changed significantly during the last years according to STUDIALUX, an analysis conducted by the University of Luxembourg’s Chair in Legislative Studies (Chaire de recherche en études parlementaires). Philippe Poirier, holder of the chair, presented the results.
“In its system of values, Luxembourg is one of Europe’s societies most prone to the processes of individuation. Residents of Luxembourg now favour work and self-realisation independently over forms of sociability and collective mediation such as associations, religious communities, political parties and the retreat into their most private realms (nature, family, sexuality, etc.),” Poirier says. STUDIALUX aims to aggregate social, cultural and economic data pertaining to political determinants and behaviour in Luxembourg. It also explores shifts in individual and collective values and researches the relationship between democracy, institutions and civil society organisations.
The most recent results show a significant behavioural change in the 2018 national elections and the 2019 European elections compared to the 2013 and 2014 elections. In 2019, the majority of voters from the Democratic Party (DP, liberal centrist), LSAP Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP, left of centre) and the Greens (environmentalist, left of centre) remained loyal to the governing coalition formed by those three parties. Back in 2013 and 2014, many voters of the DP (at the time an opposition party) sided with the right of centre CSV (Christian Social People’s Party), which was part of the ruling coalition before 2013.
The study also shows that voters’ decision-making is increasingly spontaneous. 44 percent of voters settled for candidates or a party of their choice only in the last week before the EU election 2019. In the national elections 2018, it was 40 percent (compared to 32 % in 2013, 35% in 2014). Growing indecisiveness also means that polls taken before elections hardly provide reliable predictions about their outcome.
Considering social values, the study indicates that EU citizens living in Luxembourg share similar attitudes. Citizens of Luxembourg and other EU citizens living in Luxembourg have demonstrated virtually identical voting patterns, by proportionally voting for the same parties. Also, individualism and consumerism seem to increase, regardless of social and professional status. “People are interested in themselves and their inner circle and are becoming increasingly indifferent to all forms of collective organisms. The increasing individualisation of society partially leads to an ecological conservatism that is not necessarily social. Ecological conservatism, like social conservatism, is an alternative to cultural, economic and social liberalism. However, unlike social conservatism, ecological conservatism is rather distanced from social cohesion,” says Philippe Poirier.
About the Chair in Legislative Studies
The Research Chair in Legislative Studies of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg was created in 2011. It aims to contribute to the knowledge, study and functioning of parliamentarianism in the national and European decision-making process. It contributes to research activities mainly in political science and law in the fields of democracy, public policies, national legislation and comparative politics in Europe.
About Philippe Poirier
Philippe Poirier is Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Luxembourg. He holds the Chair in Legislative Studies since 2011. He is visiting professor at the University of Turin. His research projects have been funded by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Science Foundation, the Council of Europe, the Luxembourg National Research Fund and the national Parliament. Since 2016 he is member of the College of Expert Reviewers in Social Sciences, European Science Foundation. In January 2020, Poirier was elected President of the European Consortium for Church and State Research.
© Photo: European Union 2015 – Source EP