Second Werner-Schaus government

The second Werner-Schaus Ministry was the government of Luxembourg between 6 February 1969 and 15 June 1974. Throughout the ministry, the Deputy Prime Minister was Eugène Schaus, replacing Henry Cravatte, who had been Deputy Prime Minister in the Werner-Cravatte Ministry.

It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Democratic Party.

At the discussions for the 1969 budget, disagreements surfaced in the government coalition. While the LSAP favoured a salary increase for civil servants and a pensions increase, the CSV believed that with the economic situation characterised by weak growth, it was not possible to give way to expensive pay demands. The two party heads, Pierre Werner and Henry Cravatte, decided to hold early elections, which would otherwise have been held in 1969. As a result of the elections of 15 December 1968, the CSV lost one seat and the LSAP lost three, while the Democratic Party regained its position of 1959, returning 11 Deputies. Despite their parties' losses, Werner and Cravatte would have liked to continue the cooperation between CSV and LSAP. However, the trade union wing of the LSAP opposed such a continuation. The DP thus took the LSAP's place as a coalition partner in the government, while the LSAP went into opposition.

Two ministerial reshuffles occurred during this government, one on 5 July 1971 with the addition of two secretaries of State, the other on 19 September 1972 with the resignation of Madeleine Frieden, due to a scandal. After this second change, Camille Ney was promoted to minister and Jacques Santer joined the government as a secretary of State.

In the period 1969-1974, Luxembourg continued to play an important role in Europe thanks to ideas on monetary integration developed by its Prime Minister. In January 1968, invited to a congress of the CDU in Germany, Pierre Werner had presented a five-point plan of for European Economic and Monetary Union. Provoking the interest of the other member states of the EEC, Werner was invited to elaborate his views before the conference of ministers of finance in Rotterdam in September 1968, then at the European summit of The Hague in December 1969. At this last meeting, the governments declared their intention to elaborate a plan for steps towards creating an economic and monetary union. Currency was going to be the motor for European construction. In March 1970, Pierre Werner was made the head of a study group that would report to the commission. In its final report, the commission of experts gave priority to the coordination of economic policies, the necessity for common decision-making instances, the centralisation of monetary policy by the creation of a committee of central bank governors, the limitation in variation of exchange rates and the creation of a European fund to sustain exchange rates. The “Werner Plan” was well-received, but the difficulties of the dollar and the pound sterling, the oil crisis and stagflation put a halt on its realisation. However, the European Monetary System, which came into force in 1979, made use of several of its elements, such as the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the snake in the tunnel.

...
Wikipedia