G.Nausėda: better late than never
In a comment to journalists on Sunday, the President emphasized that the mandate of voter trust given to the Social Democrats and the decision to change partners is primarily “a matter for the ruling coalition party”.
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“And I think that this decision, which was made yesterday, is a step in the right direction.
Yes, perhaps it matured for a long time, some voters lost patience waiting for that decision. But it was made. As they say, better late than never,” G. Nausėda said.
He believes that the decision will allow the coalition to “focus on the necessary work, rather than commenting on the special positions of one of the coalition partners, which often differed from the general position of the ruling coalition”.
“This is truly meaningless, it distracts us from the tasks that are most important for the state today,” he said.
Ruginienė is not an obstacle, but will also work with Sinkevičius
After long and heated discussions on Saturday, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) finally approved the proposal of chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius to part ways with the “Aušriečiai” led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis and invites the Democrats, who have already worked with the Social Democrats once this term, to join the coalition.
M. Sinkevičius promised that negotiations would begin immediately – next week already, and should not last long.
G. Nausėda says he hopes that, if negotiations succeed, the new coalition partner “in this sense will be more inclined to cooperate than to express their separate opinion”.
Asked if he saw a need to change Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė as well, G. Nausėda again emphasized that it was a matter for the Social Democrats themselves. However, the president says that he would get along perfectly with both M. Sinkevičius and the rest of the LSDP leadership.
“Regarding the Prime Minister – I personally have no complaints about the Prime Minister. Again, if they want to take the opportunity and, by leaving one coalition partner out, want to make even more radical government overhauls – that is the right of the Social Democrats, and I certainly do not want to dictate to them what they should do in this situation,” said the head of state.
“I am ready to work with a new coalition. If there is a new Prime Minister – without a doubt, it will depend on his personality, what his priorities will be.
One can sense what that might be. I certainly have a good, constructive relationship with many leaders of the Social Democratic Party – we meet regularly, talk, discuss. So I hope I can easily do that in the future,” G. Nausėda said.
He says that he had met with M. Sinkevičius several times over the past few months and exchanged opinions on “the most important issues of public life”.
“I did not notice any major disagreements in one position or another. So I think it is certainly the right of the Social Democrats to consider all alternatives.
I repeat once again, it is important that major government overhauls do not prolong the entire political process to such an extent that we would have political uncertainty during these very important months for the state. I believe we do not have the luxury now to live in a state of uncertainty,” the president emphasized.
Democrats have “personnel”
Asked if he saw the necessity for other changes in the Government, G. Nausėda emphasized that with the arrival of new coalition partners, at least some ministers would naturally change.
He also spoke about the Democrats’ opportunity to take up posts and urged to start and conclude negotiations as soon as possible.
“Knowing that the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” is a party where one can certainly find more than one suitable candidate to hold ministerial portfolios, especially since some have had the opportunity to be ministers in the past and demonstrated what they can do and are capable of, I believe it should not take a long time. It should be quite smooth,” urged G. Nausėda.
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“Certainly now is not the time when we can afford to get bogged down in long negotiations and have considerable uncertainty about the Government. Clarity is needed as soon as possible,” he added.
G. Nausėda: Budrys’s question is exaggerated
M. Sinkevičius also mentioned that with the arrival of the Democrats, the heads of not only the ministries previously belonging to the “Aušriečiai” but also some managed by the Social Democrats would change.
The “Aušriečiai” had delegated representatives to the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture; the third, the Ministry of Energy, formally belonged to them, but due to disagreements with the Presidency, the previous minister, Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, who had the president’s backing, remained in charge.
The Democrats are aiming for all three ministerial seats: they should propose Tomas Tomilinas as Minister of Environment, Kęstutis Mažeika as Minister of Agriculture, and Lukas Savickas, the elder of the democratic faction, would be proposed as Minister of Energy.
15min sources in the party claim that at least four ministerial seats are shaky during the government’s restructuring: those of Minister of Interior Vladislav Kondratovič, Minister of Finance Kristupas Vaitiekūnas, Minister of Culture Vaida Aleknavičienė, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys, who is also named as G. Nausėda’s own candidate.
The President asserts that he understands the questions raised for Minister of Interior Vladislav Kondratovič regarding the data theft at the Register Center and the unfolding story – hacks into the accounts of employees of other Ministry of Interior institutions.
But he urges not to judge him alone, but to look at the past as well.
“Yes, if questions are raised about one minister or another, and complaints are made against him – yes, the Register Center scandal does not adorn Lithuania, and there is no joy in it. How responsible the current minister is and how much work was not done earlier – a deeper analysis would be needed. It seems to me that the reasons should also be sought a little further back in the past,” said G. Nausėda.
K. Budrys’s question, in his opinion, is artificially exaggerated – the president made it clear that he would not approve of his replacement.
Regarding Minister Budrys – it seems to me to be an artificially raised question, I don’t even know what the true purpose of that discussion is.
“Regarding Minister Budrys – it seems to me to be an artificially raised question, I don’t even know what the true purpose of that discussion is. Mr. Budrys is one of the most actively working ministers, he responds to both the Government’s program and my expectations.
Therefore, I think this is simply an attempt to distract from more important matters when talking about the personality of one minister,” he cut in.
M. Sinkevičius did not rule out the possibility on LRT television that the leader of the Democratic Union “For Lithuania”, MEP Virginijus Sinkevičius, could become the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
According to 15min, V. Sinkevičius himself is not considering returning to Lithuania from Brussels and would like to continue his career in the European Parliament.
G. Nausėda also mentions this when asked if he would approve if K. Budrys were replaced by V. Sinkevičius.
“Look, first of all, we don’t know if Virginijus Sinkevičius is applying, what the negotiations will be. And generally, changing ministers, especially those delegated by the Social Democrats – well, I can’t love the Social Democrats more than they love themselves.
So if they think it is necessary for them to change ministers to gain more public trust – please, let them do it. But, without a doubt, when coordinating a ministerial candidate, there will be very serious conversations with me. So I will certainly exercise the right that belongs to the president, so that the most suitable minister is chosen,” G. Nausėda assured.
