Exercise in Appearances

The army union SPAL says response times to its letters and requests for meetings have increased significantly since Defence Minister Yuriko Backes took office. According to the union, such delays were not experienced under her predecessors.[1]

The union also criticised the minister for informing it that she would not attend a meeting of the monitoring committee on army working hours. SPAL says her attendance is required under a 2019 agreement.[1]

SPAL further states that it requested information from the Defence Ministry in mid-February to prepare for the meeting but received no response. As a result, it decided to cancel the meeting. In its statement, the union said it had no interest in participating in what it described as an "exercise in appearances" without a serious and constructive exchange.[1]

Mid-February. It is now late July. Five months of silence from the ministry, and the union finally gave up and cancelled the meeting it was preparing for. A monitoring committee on army working hours, required under a 2019 agreement, did not meet because the minister would not confirm attendance and the ministry would not answer basic information requests.[1]

Yuriko Backes has had a busy day. This morning, she argued that shop closures on Route d'Arlon are not linked to the tram project. At noon, she inaugurated an accessibility lounge at Findel Airport. This afternoon, the army union says she has been ignoring them since February. Three portfolios, three headlines, one minister. Luxembourg's government is small. The people in it are not.[1]