Communist Party of Luxembourg

Communist Party of Luxembourg
Leader	Ali Ruckert
Founded	2 January 1921
Headquarters	3, rue Zénon Bernard Esch-sur-Alzette
Newspaper	Zeitung vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism
Political position	Left-wing
International affiliation	International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties International Communist Seminar
Colours	Red
Website
http://www.kp-l.org
Politics of Luxembourg Political parties Elections

The Communist Party of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Kommunistesch Partei Lëtzebuerg, French: Parti Communiste Luxembourgeois, German: Kommunistische Partei Luxemburg), abbreviated to KPL or PCL, is a communist party in Luxembourg.

Ali Ruckert is the current chairman of the party.

History

Founded on 2 January 1921 in the town of Niederkorn, the KPL was launched, making it one of the oldest parties in Luxembourg. In 1937, the Bech government attempted to introduce the so-called Maulkuerfgesetz ("Muzzle law") which would have banned the party, but the law was abandoned after failing to achieve popular support in a national referendum.

Following the end of the Second World War, the party joined the National Union Government (1945 – 47). Its first minister was Charles Marx. After Marx's death, in a car accident in 1946, he was replaced by Dominique Urbany. However, after the death of the leader of the LSAP, the coalition collapsed. With the principle of an all-inclusive government gone, the KPL was excluded from the next government, and never returned another member to the cabinet.

In 1964, the United States State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 500.^[1] In legislative elections held in the same year, the party registered 12.4% of the vote, and won five of the Chamber of Deputies' 56 seats. The party's representation in the Chamber peaked at the following election, with six deputies, but fell, until the KPL lost its last remaining deputy in 1994.

In 1999, many party members were co-founders of the Left (Luxembourgish: Déi Lénk). Accordingly KPL members ran on The Left lists in the 1999 and 2000 elections and no separate KPL lists existed. After disputes between leading KPL members and a majority within the Left shortly before the 2004 elections the party again ran separate lists. A number of the Left members were subsequently expelled from the Communist Party.

Results since 1931 (year links to election page)
Year	Type of election	Votes	%	Seats
1931	Parliament	6,264	0.7%	0
1934	Parliament	70,940	5.2%	1
1937	Parliament		%
1945	Parliament	295,701	11.1%	5
1948	Parliament	195,956	14.3%	5
1951	Parliament	35,662	3.2%	4
1954	Parliament	211,171	7.3%	3
1959	Parliament	220,425	7.2%	3
1964	Parliament	330,909	10.4%	5
1968	Parliament	402,610	13.1%	6
1974	Parliament	314,635	8.8%	5
1979	Parliament	177,286	4.9%	2
1984	Parliament	165,960	4.4%	2
1989	Parliament	157,608	4.4%	1
1994	Parliament	57,646	1.7%	0
1999	Parliament	110,274	3.3%	1
2004	Parliament	35,524	0.9%	0
2009	Parliament	49,108	1.4%	0
2013	Parliament	53,669	1.6%	0

References

1. Benjamin, Roger W.; Kautsky, John H. (March 1968). "Communism and Economic Development". American Political Science Review 62 (1): 110–123. doi:10.2307/1953329. JSTOR 1953329.

External links

• kp-l.org (Official party website)
• Zeitung vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek (newspaper aligned with the Communist Party of Luxembourg)