Discours de Xavier Bettel lors de la réception de nouvel an de la Fedil

"If we don’t act, in 2016 we’ll face a total public debt of over 15 Billion Euro – 15 Billion. We are talking about a number that is 10 times higher than it was in 2003. Also, it is three times the 2008 debt– the year considered to be the peak of the financial crisis. Last year the public debt represented 24.3 percent of the GDP. Policy unchanged would mean that it will come close to 30 percent in 2016."

Mr. Deputy Prime Minister,
Mr. Chairman of FEDIL  Business Federation,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I know it is a tradition that the Prime Minister addresses your New Year's Reception and I also know it is tradition that he has the honour to speak shortly before dinner. That is a nice idea, but it is not necessarily a favour you are offering me.At some point people's stomachs begin to overtake power and nobody listens anymore to what the person at the speaker's desk has to say. So, I'll do my very best to be short and precise.

My role tonight is to provide you with an appetizer, and keep talking until your hunger forces me to sit down.

Dear Mr.Chairman, dear guests, well, I can tell you I am hungry too, I just arrived at the table of government and I am hungry for action, I am hungry for change.

Politically, things have already changed in the last few months, economically , the challenges remain.What used to be "the crisis" has become "the reality" - a reality that we have to deal with. And that is exactly what this new government is going to do: We deal with realities. 

The reality is for example that last year the public debt was more than 11 Billion Euro.

You might remember those awful things you had to eat when you were a sick child. I, for example, was always given " huile de foie de morue" - cod liver oil, other people were given soups or spinach. You did not like it and it was not tasty at all. However, your parents convinced you that this is healthy and that it makes you fit again. This is our starter: Something we might not like so much but something that we need to get us back on our feet.

If we don’t act, in 2016 we’ll face a total public debt of over 15 Billion Euro – 15 Billion. We are talking about a number that is 10 times higher than it was in 2003. Also, it is three times the 2008 debt– the year considered to be the peak of the financial crisis. Last year the public debt represented 24.3 percent of the GDP. Policy unchanged would mean that it will come close to 30 percent in 2016.

If we don’t act, the budgetary deficit will come close to 1 Billion Euro for next year’s budget (2015-2016). Yes, this shocking number mainly is the consequence of losing income of the e-commerce. But, in the end it doesn’t change the reality. If we don’t act, 2016 will be the year when Luxembourg has a deficit of 2 percent of its GDP.

If we don’t act, the unemployment rate will continue to rise. The national Agency for statistics estimates an unemployment rate of 7,2 percent  for this year. That would mean that 20.000 people in this country were without a job. That's three times more than in 2004.

I could go on with this cheerless description about reality but I’m not speaking here tonight to draw a picture of pessimism. I only want to emphasize that the idea of a change is not a wish but a necessity.

We cannot go on and play "hide and seek" with reality. This country needs action and the government is determined to act - but not on a unilateral basis.

Social cohesion is an important element of this government's policy. Mr. Dennewald, I agree with you, we need to re-launch the dialogue between employers and trade unions, and the government is willing to reactivate the tripartite meetings. The "deadlock" as you said, has to be broken and topics like more flexibility in labour law will certainly be part of such discussions. The outcome cannot be predicted beforehand but will be the result of negotiations.

If we want to change things, we need support. We need the support of employers and employees, we need the support of people living here but also of the people that don’t live, but work here.This is one of the reasons why commuters need to be included in political decisions.

How to get support ? How to convince people to agree to give up something? I think that it only can work with full transparency and by telling the truth.

We need to communicate and inform, we have to be honest and direct. It is just like with the awful things we had to eat when we were that sick child. Our parents would not have succeeded by telling us that the things they forced us to eat were something tasty and sweet. That would have worked only once. No, they told us the truth: It might not taste good, but it is good for you.

It's not the time for popular decisions that might push people to the top of polls; we need decisions that push the Luxembourgish economy to the top of polls - and unemployment into the basement of those Eurostat numbers.

Also, we should not underestimate common sense. People understand that we cannot go on spending money as we used to. Now the state has lower income but spends more money than a couple of years ago. That is true for the "state apparatus" itself - of course. There is a certain potential for saving money within the public service and administrations. This government has decided to impose itself a target of cutting 10 percent of the working costs budget in each Ministry and Administration.

That is an important step and more than just a signal. We want to change mentalities within administrations. Not everything that used to make sense still makes sense, not everything that is great to have is also necessary. As we plan to change mentalities in the administrations, we also need to change mentality in society. We need to get away from a "money-wasting" towards a "money-investing" attitude.

We need schools, but they don’t have to be monuments, we need bridges but they don’t need to be works of art.

Also, often we help people who don’t need help and did not ask for it. An example here is the “Mammerent”. Of course it makes sense to compensate women who gave up professional life in order to take care of children and households. But does it really make sense for everybody?

We don’t know because we don’t ask. In the current system the economic situation of the beneficiary is not considered at all. We waste money because we don't question enough whether a contribution is justified and legitimate. It does not mean however that we should spend money only where we can see the short term result.

The opposite is true and that is why the government keeps investing in infrastructure. Investment into good infrastructure generates investments in the local economy.

This a the main course of our menu. It is a meal freshly cooked with ingredients well picked. Among these ingredients are of course local specialties and things we know that people liked them in the past. But we also need to try new ingredients and spice up what we serve.

That is why the government is focusing on the diversification of the economy. We need to enlarge the range of activities in the financial sector and prepare this pillar of our economy for the challenges of the future - namely for the time after 1st January 2015 when Luxembourg will switch from the "withholding tax" to the "exchange of information".

Besides the financial sector, we need to strengthen other sectors and create new ones.

Concerining diversification, the three parties have agreed to concentrate on several sectors like logistics, the media and communications sector, eco-technology - and also Industry. Luxembourg needs an industrial sector that is strong and competitive. The number of people working in this sector is almost exactly the same as15 years ago. At the same time the population has increased substantially. This means that industry is losing importance in the employment market. We have to stop this devolution and counter the decline.

The main wheel to counter this trend is Innovation and Research.

That is food preventing us from feeling too hungry after we have left the table – which by the way won’t be in the near future, I can assure you.

Endorsing a high-level Education is one of the top priorities for the next 5 years. Allow me to explain in some words what I mean:

What we need is a school system that takes ino account the very specific demographic situation of our country. We have to realize that today nearly 60% of the children born here do not grow up with Luxembourgish as their native language. People tend to either ignore this fact or consider it as a problem. We believe that this reality can be turned into a major asset. The primary aim of any school system is to convey knowledge and prepare children for adult life. Being able to live and work in a trilingual country is part of this preparation and should not be neglected. On the other hand a motivated young person who wants to become a mechanic should not be prevented from doing this because of  the subjunctive rules in French grammar.

We want to implement a school system that is much more tailored and focused to individual needs, requirements and qualifications. A system endorsing a talent instead of punishing a weakness has been proven to be more successful in the long term. A mentoring system with tutors assisting young people is therefore part of the plan we are going to implement.

BUT, we should also stop telling our children that everybody can become everything. As I said before when I was talking about cod liver oil and the financial situation of the country, we have to tell the truth.

We as a government have to be honest with the population and parents have to be honest with their children.

Unfortunately, a good school system does not guarantee that everybody remains in the system and gets a diploma. We should try our very best to reduce the number of young people leaving school without any qualification. Assistance and a tutorial programmes are an excellent preventative measure. If it is not effective, we need a strategy to bring people back on track.

A professionalized service for orientation is therefore another brick in the wall preventing high unemployment rates. The "orientation house" which opened two years ago was an important first step into the right direction. This contact point for young people will be a key element in the governmental strategy to fight unemployment among young people. The organisational aspect of the "orientation house" will be improved, it is one of the rare public services where we are planning to recruit more staff and we are considering opening regional agencies.

Young people need perspectives; they have a right to success if they are ready to invest in themselves. It is our responsibility as politicians to ensure a system where motivated young people have a future and if they need support they get support.

Mr. Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore

I was told that it is common in Ireland that when friends invite you over for dinner, you bring the dessert. That is what you have done tonight.

Six years ago you faced a crisis that brought Ireland close to collapse. I am not going to remind you of all the hard decisions and tough choices that had to be made since then, but last month Ireland exited from the Troika bailout and even though the situation is still difficult, Ireland is moving into the right direction, the economy is starting to recover, the unemployment rate is falling.

You showed that even a disastrous situation is not necessarily a hopeless one. This, dear Eamon is a very sweet conclusion for Ireland, for the European Union and for the global economy. A dessert so sweet it will stay in our minds even after it is finished.

The Irish example has also shown us another thing that should be not be forgotten. Solidarity is not money-wasting, it is investing in the future. Unlike the common saying that many cooks spoil the broth, good food is the result of the work of many people. Beginning with the farmer growing the vegetables and ending up with someone doing the dishes.  They have to work hand in hand and be reliable.

The new government by the way functions in the same way. We formed a coalition unified by the determination to bring this country back on track. We share an agenda but everyone has specific responsibilities.

That is why I recommend you Mr. Dennewald, that for next year's reception you also give this floor to another member of the government so that he or she can convince you of other elements from our roadmap for the future.

Talking about food all night, I don’t want to prevent you any longer from your plates but I want to tell you something about my very personal wish for 2014.

As Prime Minister I am proud to live in a country that always succeeded in reinventing itself. There were periods in this country's history that were much more hopeless than the current economic situation and yet Luxembourg plays a major role in so many fields. We should be proud of what we are and believe in what we can do. Despite all the differences in the population, we are one population of a small country with a big future. Let us believe in it.

Thank you and bon appétit.

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