Saulius Skvernelis, Lithuania's former prime minister, has been elected chairman of a new party, the Democratic Union For Lithuania, which was founded on Saturday.
Skvernelis, who left the Farmers and Greens Union group in the parliament after falling out with its leader Ramūnas Karbauskis, was picked chairman of the new party by a vote of 622 out of 742 members.
Presenting his bid for the chairmanship, Skvernelis said the new party should work “for the people”, as opposed to abstract notions like “economy” or “justice”.
“We often use fancy phrases ‘for something’, but we forget the essence of it all, and it's the people,” he said, “All other ‘for somethings’ mean nothing without people. Therefore, standing here today in front of you, I want us to be for people and for humanity.”
The politician criticised the current government's healthcare and education reforms, which he argued were aimed at only ensuring effective use of funds but not people's needs and easy access to services.
Skvernelis said that while the party would support the Green Deal and sustainable economy for the sake of the planet, its focus “should be on people”.
He also criticised the government's foreign policy. According to Skvernelis, “we have a values-based foreign policy, where there's no place for the interests of Lithuanian citizens”.
He will lead the new party for three years.
Other candidates to lead the party included MP Vytautas Bakas and Lazdijai District Mayor Ausma Miškinienė, who received 72 and 48 votes respectively.
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