Tom Clarke welcomed Duncan Roberts into the Ara City Radio studio on Monday morning for the final Delano’s Top of the Week slot of the year. It was also Duncan’s final appearance on the show as he steps down from Delano.

The occasion seemed perfect, then, for a roundup of the top stories of 2022 and a look ahead at what’s in store for 2023. And of course, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact of the ongoing war was the topic that dominated the conversation. Local efforts have been made to help refugees and to raise funds for sorely needed emergency vehicles via the “Ukraine Is Calling” campaign, which has so far raised over €295,000.

On a broader scale, the conversation briefly turned to veteran diplomat Henry Kissinger, now 99, whose recent call for a negotiated peace settlement was dismissed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The economic impacts on fuel prices and inflation, as well as the efforts agreed at the Tripartite meetings of government, employers and trade unions to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, were also discussed.

2022 was also a notable year for Luxembourg politics as there were four changes in cabinet and former Pierre Gramegna was finally appointed head of the ESM.

But that’s nothing compared to what 2023 has in store, with the local elections in June and the national elections in October. Tom and Duncan talked about the latest opinion polls that suggest the socialist LSAP, led by Luxembourg’s most popular politician at the moment, Paulette Lenert, could be the party that fares best in October.

Tips for the week

As usual, the Top of the Week slot also provides listeners with some “what’s on” tips for the coming week. This week Duncan picked , the inaugural and the on rue Notre Dame the same evening.

Duncan’s music pick for this week was an old but rousing seasonal tune from Julian Casablancas, .

Tune in again on Monday 2 January around 8:30am on (87.8 - 102.9 -105.2 FM) or listen to the podcast on Delano.