LRT English Newsletter – October 6, 2023.
Two unrelated stories of misconduct by high-ranking officials have surfaced in Lithuania this week.
First, Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupšys was found to be spending the state housing allowance on renting a flat from his son. He seemed to see nothing wrong in this, saying he was entitled to renting from whomever he wanted, granted his son paid taxes on the money he received.
What didn’t go down well, however, was the defence chief’s loss of temper. He accused a journalist of asking stupid questions and “looking for worms” in the wrong place. “Are you stupid or do you just look stupid?” he snapped at the journalist on record (have a listen here if you understand Lithuanian).
Later, Rupšys announced he had decided to terminate the lease with his son because of the “uproar” but stressed that he was just a hostage of the situation.
Another self-proclaimed hostage was Lithuania’s Ambassador to the UK Eitvydas Bajarūnas. An audit by the Foreign Ministry’s inspectors at the embassy in London found he has been abusing office and insulting his employees.
Bajarūnas responded by saying that he had become an instrument in a “political fight” and also saw no wrongdoing on his part.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has asked Bajarūnas to resume his duties in London and Rupšys to return to the important defence issues. So, it seems that both men will dodge any serious consequences.
ELECTION POOL FILLING UP
With next year’s presidential election in Lithuania approaching, the pool of candidates is finally filling up.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė announced this week that she will compete for a presidential nomination at the ruling conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats’ primary. But no primary will be needed after all. As all other candidates, proposed by the party’s regional chapters, withdrew from the race, Šimonytė became the default candidate.
This will be the second attempt by Šimonytė to take the country’s top job. In 2019, she lost in the second round of voting to Gitanas Nausėda. This time, we are likely to see more of the same, with Nausėda strongly leading the opinion polls (he is still silent about his intentions to run for the second term, though).
Former Chief of Defence Valdas Tutkus also announced this week that he will run for president. The other known candidates are former Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga and Kazlų Rūda Mayor Mantas Varaška.
UNWANTED BABIES
Last year, Lithuania reported the lowest number of births since 1990. This is bad news as the country’s population continues to age. As always, there is much debate about what could be done to change the situation, but the consensus is that the increased benefits have little impact on people’s life choices.
One thing is clear – we must educate teenagers about safe sex, relationships, and family planning. Even more so after a story of a pregnant 11-year-old shocked Lithuania this week.
UKRAINE GRAIN UPDATE
Kyiv, Warsaw, and Vilnius have reached an agreement on transferring checks of Ukrainian grain cargo from the Polish-Ukrainian border to Lithuania’s Klaipėda Port. This will facilitate the Ukrainian grain transit through Poland and is the first step in resolving the Ukraine-Poland spat, according to officials.
The European Union, however, has no plans, at least for now, to support the transit of Ukrainian grain through Lithuania.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– “There are signs that Russia is preparing for war with the West”, a former Dutch intelligence officer said in an interview with LRT.lt.
– Praise to Russia and understaffed customs – here’s what the LRT journalists saw at Lithuania’s border with Belarus.
– The architecture historian talks about how the Soviet utopia of free housing failed Lithuania.
– Meanwhile, Lithuania has recorded the warmest September in modern history.
– And LRT finally has a new (old) director general.
Would you like to contribute to LRT English? Please send your suggestions, submissions, and pitches to english@lrt.lt
Written by Ieva Žvinakytė
Edited by Justinas Šuliokas
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