Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker addresses the media, after he casts his vote, at a polling station in Capellen, Luxembourg, Sunday Oct. 20, 2013. Polls opened in Luxembourg for legislative elections on Sunday, with Prime Minister Juncker hoping to win another term in office after an intelligence scandal brought down his government earlier this year. Juncker is the European Union’s longest-serving premier after 18 years in office. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Luxembourgers are voting for a new government Sunday with a possibility of keeping Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in power after a spying scandal forced early elections in the Grand Duchy.
Juncker is already the longest serving government leader in the 28-nation European Union and since his CSV party is likely to remain the biggest in the nation, he could be in the driving seat to broker a government coalition and extend a reign that started in 1995.
The spying scandal centered on eavesdropping on politicians and corruption within the tiny state security service, which happened under Juncker’s watch. Juncker was not implicated, but took political responsibility.
Depending on the outcome, Juncker could again form a coalition with the socialists or face a grand coalition against him.