Alongside  and , déi Gréng’s list includes , , Chantal Gary and Patrick Hurst. Metz hopes that this list will give a new life to a party that seems, given its recent results, to have fallen from favour.

Metz became a member of the European Parliament in 2018 in tragic circumstances: Claude Turmes gave up his spot in parliament to replace Camile Gira, a historic figure in the party, who suffered a heart attack during a speech in the chamber of deputies; Metz took over for Turmes at the European level. Since then, she has devoted herself entirely to her mandate, refusing to stand as a candidate in the parliamentary elections. Her appointment as head of the list is the result of this commitment. “As an outgoing MEP, it was logical for me to take up this position,” she says.

In Brussels, she says she appreciates parliamentary work that focuses on the issues and the search for compromise to achieve better texts. “[It’s] far from the majority-opposition logic of national parliaments,” she comments. “It doesn’t matter if you come from a small country or a small party. What counts is the ability to commit to your issues.”

A fight for transparency

Metz’s commitment: “I want to work for a socially just Europe, so that the ecological transition benefits everyone. And to be a strong voice against the far right.” At the European Parliament, she also works on public health issues, public transport and European rail networks.

Central to her political ethos is transparency. On 22 October 2021, she and four other déi Gréng MEPs--Margrete Auken, Jutta Paulus, Michèle Rivasi and Kimberly van Sparrentak--filed an action against the European Commission (Auken and others v Commission, Case T-689/21) for its refusal to disclose a large number of documents relating to contracts signed with the pharmaceutical industry at the height of the covid-19 pandemic in order to launch large-scale vaccine production.

“The contracts were very unbalanced in favour of the pharmaceutical companies, particularly in terms of liability,” says Metz. “I’m not anti-vax. I even think the strategy was a good one. But by not making these past contracts fully transparent, we have undermined this strategy and created mistrust. Ursula von der Leyen’s refusal to make public the text messages exchanged with Pfizer does not help matters. Where public money is involved, where public health is at stake, there has to be transparency.” Metz is hoping for a decision on this matter before the elections.

Keeping to the subject of transparency, Metz comments on Qatargate: “This affair is damaging the image of the institution. I have always said that the European Parliament is one of the most transparent [parliaments]. But we can have the best rules in the world--and we’ve made them even stricter because of these scandals--and it won’t change a thing when faced with dishonest people, with black sheep.” In her view, further tightening the rules on transparency is the way to establish a relationship of trust with the public.

A plea for ecological transition

For Metz, the European elections on 6-9 June are a key moment for deciding the future direction of the European Union: “We are at a crossroads. On the one hand, we can move towards a Europe that genuinely defends human beings and the environment while working towards a resilient economy, rather than a Europe that defends the interests of a privileged few with little respect for the environment and which risks weakening Europe geopolitically and economically. Voters need to be aware of the values behind the programmes. Are they really European values? Are they about solidarity or exclusion, protectionism or national egoism? I am convinced that tomorrow’s economy must be sustainable and resilient. And you can’t talk about a resilient economy without talking about respect for nature and human beings.”

But the member of parliament is also aware that, given Russia’s war in Ukraine, it is economic, geopolitical and security issues that will dominate the debates; the climate crisis and the fight to preserve biodiversity will be secondary. These themes are not incompatible, Metz points out: “The war made us aware of our energy dependence on autocratic--and even dictatorial--countries, just as covid-19 made us face up to our dependence on countries like China and India for medicines. People have understood this and seen the need to invest in renewable energies and to develop more European production of key products such as the active ingredients in medicines. That’s a blessing in disguise. For me, it’s clear that if we want energy security, food security or to re-industrialise, we need an ecological transition.”

Déi Gréng on the rebound

Will déi Gréng be able to make their message resonate this time, and bounce back after two bitter electoral setbacks? Metz is convinced of it. For her, the lessons of the defeat in the parliamentary elections have been learned. “The main lesson--apart from questioning certain things in terms of organisation and communication--is that a positive balance sheet is not enough to win elections. You also have to talk to people about their anxieties, their emotions and their feelings. You have to listen. For the legislative campaign, we stuck to an overly objective and rational approach.”

And some water seems to have passed under the bridge. “I’m optimistic about these elections. Surprisingly, after last October’s defeat, we’ve seen our membership grow. There’s a huge mobilisation that goes beyond the classic Green Party voters. You can see from all the little things that people are motivated. The momentum is there. That doesn’t mean that the greenbashing is over, however: we’re still being targeted by populists and the far right, who only have simple ideas to solve complicated problems. A green vote is a vote against the rise of the far right.”

Will this be enough to retain the seat won by déi Gréng in 2019, the year in which the party came close to winning a second mandate? Metz is counting on voters to mobilise for a ballot that has always worked well for the party; voters who, in her view, are aware that a strong EU is important for Luxembourg, “a founding country and one of the capitals of the European Union.”

“If we manage to keep one MEP, we will be sending out a strong message: that the Green Party is back. The aim is to maintain a strong green voice for Luxembourg in the European Parliament. Luxembourg needs Europe and Europe needs a strong green voice from Luxembourg. If the Green Deal is not to end up gutted or in a drawer, the ecologists must be strengthened. The same goes for the far right. We will always be a bulwark against the far right.”

In the face of the current upsurge of the far right and eurosceptics, Metz believes that her party could, at the European level, support the current commission president in her quest for a second term and join the current coalition supporting her, a coalition made up of liberals, socialists and the centre-right. On one condition: that “the current president of the commission, who, with the support of her political family (the EPP), has put the brakes on everything to do with the ecological transition--in particular blocking the directive on the sustainable use of pesticides--makes commitments on a socially just ecological transition and on her willingness to stand in the way of the far right.”

This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.