Prime Minister Luc Frieden (CSV) and his government are under pressure to act. A large majority in the country supports a tripartite, which he ultimately only convened under pressure from unions, patronage and his own government partner. Falling poll numbers for his CSV and sympathy for the concerns of unions and patronage are transforming the Tripartite into a political tightrope walk before it even begins. In the bilateral preliminary talks on Wednesday, the social partners are negotiating with the government on an agenda, the setting of which alone contains enough political explosives.
