Newspapers in Luxembourg
The daily press in Luxembourg, with a total edition of 124,000 copies. (2000, 325 newspaper sex. Per 1,000 residents), is linked to the political parties and recipients of extensive state aid. The largest newspaper, the bilingual Luxemburger Wort / La Voix du Luxembourg (founded in 1848, 88,000 copies), is owned by the Catholic bishop of Luxembourg and is affiliated with the Christian Democratic Party; the second largest, Tageblatt (founded in 1927, 30,000 ex.), is owned by the trade union movement and is affiliated with the Social Democratic Party.
Radio and TV advertising was financed and controlled in 1931–91 entirely by a private monopoly, owned by Belgian-French interests, Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion(CLT), which in 1997 merged with the German film and TV company UFA. CLT-UFA targets other countries in Europe, with a number of radio and TV channels, most with RTL (Radio-Télévision Luxembourg) in the name. The monopoly was broken in 1991 with a law that allows domestic radio stations. RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg, which broadcasts in three languages, has received competition from 5-6 radio stations. In 1985, the satellite company SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) was founded in Luxembourg, which in 1988 launched the first Astra satellite and then additional satellites. SES distributes 430 analogue and digital TV channels and 220 radio channels. There are 391 radio and 589 TV receivers per 1,000 residents (2000).
Culture
According to APARENTINGBLOG, Luxembourg lies in the borderland between the French and German cultural spheres, and is characterized by both. Luxembourgish writers have worked and work partly in the country’s language, Luxembourg, and partly in German or French.
The national poet is Michel Lentz (1820-1893), who wrote in Luxembourg. Recent successors include Pol Greisch and René Kartheiser.
One of the foremost German-speaking lyricists is Anise Koltz, who has oriented herself to German culture in her works. Edmond Dune (1914–1988), like Nic Klecker, is regarded as the most significant French-speaking writers and lyricists.
The dance procession in Echternach, a Catholic tradition during Pentecost, is included in the UN body’s UNESCO list of intellectual property heritage.
2018
December
New old government takes office
December 5
Xavier Bettel formally takes up his second term as prime minister. He leads the same government coalition as in the first period, with liberals, social democrats and environmentalists. Among the government’s election promises include making Luxembourg the first country in the world where all public transport is free, legalizing cannabis and introducing two new holidays.
October
Bettel gets government assignment
October 25th
The Grand Duke formally appoints Prime Minister Xavier Bettel as “formateur”, which means he is given the assignment to form a new government. It is expected to be completed by the end of November or by the beginning of December.
Parliamentary elections are held
October 14
When parliamentary elections are held, the Christian Democratic CSV becomes the largest with 28.3 percent of the vote and 21 of the 60 seats. Socialist LSAP gets 17.6 percent (10 seats), Liberal Democratic Party 16.9 percent (12), Greens 15.1 percent (9), National Conservative ADR 8.3 percent (4), Pirate Party 6.4 percent (2) and the Left 5.5 percent (2). For the Pirate Party it means a debut in Parliament. The turnout is 89.7 percent.
September
The Foreign Minister accuses Italy of fascism
September 16th
Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn is angering Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who he is accusing of “fascist” methods. The dispute between the two began a few days earlier when at an EU meeting in Vienna, Salvini called African migrants “slaves”, which prompted Asselborn to loudly protest. Asselborn advocates continued immigration as a way for Europe to cope with the aging population, while Salvini belongs to the xenophobic party Lega and wants to put an end to migration.
