Parties forming the new centre-right coalition of the Lithuanian parliament Seimas have promised a change in political culture – to be more polite and constructive. But can it actually happen?
The results of the parliamentary election demonstrated that people voted for a different political culture, Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the winning Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), told LRT TV.
“I hope that there will be less bullying [in Seimas] and that we will be constructive,” Agnė Širinskienė of the Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) added.
During all four years of Seimas term with LVŽS in government and Homeland Union in opposition, the two parties had openly demonstrated rivalry and accused each other of lying.
The country's president, Gitanas Nausėda, also previously claimed his "style" of politics is different from his peers and urged parties in the parliament to be more constructive.
Read more: Lithuanian president defends his 'style', calls for different political culture
According to political analysts, the Homeland Union relied on irony as a tactic against its rivals, while the Farmers and Greens Union was competitive and arrogant. The political culture was unlikely to change even after the election that made the two parties trade places.
Ainė Ramonaitė, a professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University (TSPM), said that parties wished for change because they were tired of disrespectful communication.
But their rivalry was so deep-rooted that even the smallest provocation could undermine all efforts,’ she added.
“It is obvious that the parliament members themselves do not like such communication. But if somebody starts, there is a temptation to respond, and the vicious cycle begins,” said Ramonaitė.
Vytautas Dumbliauskas, a political analyst, added that declaring changes would not undermine the existing political culture.
According to him, the Farmers and Greens Union was “angry and disappointed” because of the lost election, and this will start to show eventually.
Ramūnas Karbauskis, head of the Farmers and Greens Union who promised to form a “constructive opposition”, later said that the Homeland Union “was absolutely ill-prepared” to govern.
But according to Mindaugas Jurkynas, a professor at Vytautas Magnus University (VDU), emotions and criticism were inevitable in politics, but it was important to keep them within the boundaries of ideological disagreements.
“Politics needs emotions. But it is important that proposals are such that they can be discussed ideologically,” Jurkynas said.
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