Pascal Clement;
Local/municipal elections will be held across Luxembourg this weekend on Sunday 8 October 2017 and, to gain a little more insight and understanding of some candidates running, Chronicle.lu is conducting a mini-series of feature articles. Each feature will focus on one candidate and help the international community uncover the true essence of those behind the flyers.
First in the mini-series is Pascal Clement, a member of the Pirate party who is standing in Luxembourg City.
Q1: Why are you standing for election in the municipal / local elections?
I think that it becomes nowadays more and more important to stand up and speak up for what is important to oneself. I especially want to speak up for the less fortunate fellow citizens. Municipal elections are the closest elections to where life actually happens, so if you want to speak up for important issues it makes sense to run at this level.
Q2: Which party are you a candidate with and what does your party stand for?
I’m a candidate for the ‘Piratepartei’ and our motto is “modern, fair and transparent”.
My party’s traditional issues are transparency and how to deal with technological progress in policy making and society shaping.
Our party’s three priorities for the city are to make the capital an attractive and good place to live in, to make it fit for the future and to let citizens decide when and how far the city can grow (by having a more transparent local government).
Q3: Why are you standing with this party?
To support and help my son (lead candidate Sven Clement) in defending the values I once taught him.
Q4: What are the main political issues facing your municipality?
Social inclusion, affordable housing and mobility.
The biggest challenge is setting sails towards a new way of living in our global world which continues turning faster every day without leaving behind the less fortunate and the older generations.
Q5: What local issues are you campaigning for?
My favourites are : social inclusion, taking better care of homeless people, ticketless bus and rail, secure bikeways and shared spaces.
Q6: Will you be aiming to represent the international community in your municipality?
Yes of course, for example we want non-Luxembourg residents to be automatically included on the electoral register and for larger local councils to make all documents available in Portuguese and English. I strongly believe in inclusion through social gathering and living together.
Q6: How do you hope to make a difference?
In order to find a way of living together happy and peacefully in our global world we need to question what we did and still do and create new ideas and solutions together with well-informed citizens.
Q7: Why should people vote for you?
Because I represent a good mix of maturity, humanity and creativity.
As a former people manager I learned how to federate different opinions around a common goal.
As a founding member of OpenHome and host of two refugees at our home I stand for social inclusion and finally as an artist (fundraising magician) creativity and finding new ways is kind of second nature to me.
