The expenses scandal has impacted the ratings of the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), the largest party in the ruling coalition. According to a poll commissioned by LRT, voters are most likely to punish the conservatives and the Social Democrats, the largest opposition party in the parliament.
Despite the expenses scandal, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania remains the most popular choice – 17.8% of respondents said they would vote for Social Democrats, down from 21.8% before the scandal in April. Democrats “For Lithuania” is in second place, up from 14.5% to 14.7%.
The survey by Baltijos Tyrimai, which polled 1,009 people in May, showed that only 8.6% of respondents would vote for TS-LDK, down from 11.3% before the scandal. The Lithuanian Greens and Farmers Union (LVŽS), up from 8.2% in April to 10% in May, has now overtaken the conservatives and is ranked third.
This means that the three most popular parties in Lithuania are in the parliamentary opposition.
Further reading
The scandal revealed that politicians from Lithuania's major political parties were claiming potentially fraudulent expenses. However, the drop in support was more related to the leading conservative politicians, according to Gabrielė Burbulytė, a political scientist at Klaipėda University (KU).
"The opinion of the population was influenced not so much by the scandal itself, but by what [Foreign Minister Gabrielius] Landsbergis and [Prime Minister Ingrida] Šimonytė said,” according to Burbulytė.
Both Landsbergis and Šimonytė said the government would resign if the parliament decided against holding snap elections. They both later walked back their pledge, despite the Seimas voting against early elections.
“There was just such a shock in society, because for many it was a very unexpected decision that was made at the time, and it could have influenced the assessment," Burbulytė added.
Liberal Movement, part of the ruling coalition, recorded a drop in support – down from 8.2% to 7.3%. The support for the Freedom Party, the other party in the ruling coalition, recorded a rise in support from 3% to 3.2%.
Further reading
LRT English
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