“I might see a different strategy – that Remigijus Žemaitaitis, who is somewhat suspended in the air, could become a lifeline in making certain decisions, because the Government’s program was approved by a minimal majority, even despite the fact that part of the Mixed Group votes together with the ruling parties,” she told Žinių radijas on Friday.
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“It is obvious that in one or another such critical case, ‘Nemuno aušra’ could become the most amenable partner from the opposition. Perhaps this is one of the explanations why there is no rush (to initiate impeachment proceedings against R. Žemaitaitis – BNS),” the MP stated.
The ruling Social Democrats, Democrats, and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union and Christian Families Union faction have 75 votes out of 141 in parliament.
On Wednesday, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal found R. Žemaitaitis guilty of inciting hatred against Jews and grossly belittling the Holocaust, and imposed a fine of 10,000 euros.
This verdict came into force on the day of its announcement.
The Seimas Statute stipulates that the parliament, “having received a copy of a final conviction for a crime committed by a person before taking office, when the fact of the crime became clear while the person was holding office, adopts a resolution to initiate impeachment proceedings in the Seimas against this person.”
However, the Speaker of the Seimas, Social Democrat Juozas Olekas, believes that before initiating impeachment, one must wait until the appeal period for the verdict expires or until the case is heard by the Supreme Court of Lithuania (LAT).
V. Čmilytė-Nielsen stated that she saw no reason to wait for the LAT’s verdict.
“The last time there was an analogous situation, at the end of 2023, the Supreme Court’s (decision – BNS) was not awaited; in Vytautas Gapšys’s case, impeachment was held immediately,” she reminded.
“By the way, an interesting detail, at that time the Social Democrats welcomed, supported, and emphasized that it was a completely non-political decision, but a legal procedural one. So, if we want to be consistent, we should adhere to the same practice, but I hear the opposite interpretation from the ruling parties (…),” said the liberal leader.
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She rejected the argument that an impeachment held now would allow R. Žemaitaitis to again resign his mandate and return to the Seimas through by-elections in a single-member constituency.
“I think it’s harder to sing the same hit a second time and fill the same halls,” she said.
“The fear that, say, Remigijus Žemaitaitis or another politician will repeat the same story three, four, five times seems unfounded to me. There is law, there is the Seimas Statute, there are precedents, and we should be guided by them,” said the MP.
BNS wrote that a criminal case was initiated against the politician due to posts about Jews published in May and June 2023 on the social network “Facebook,” and public statements. In them, among other things, Israel was called animals, and it was stated that Jews contributed to the destruction of the Lithuanian nation.
In the conviction, the Court of Appeal stated that R. Žemaitaitis, through his statements about Jews, exceeded the limits of lawful expression, systematically and publicly mocked, disparaged, and incited hatred against a group of people and individuals belonging to it due to their Jewish nationality.
Impeachment proceedings had already been initiated against R. Žemaitaitis due to the aforementioned posts. In April 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that he had violated his oath and grossly breached the Constitution. Following this decision, the politician resigned his parliamentary mandate to be able to run in the presidential and Seimas elections, and in the autumn of 2024, he was re-elected to the Seimas.
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