President Gitanas Nausėda said on Monday that it was a mistake to invite the Dawn of the Nemunas party, whose leader has been accused of making anti-Semitic statements, to join the Social Democrat-led ruling coalition.
“I think it was a mistake and the coalition will have to prove that it was not a mistake in the coming weeks,” Nausėda told reporters in Vilnius.
He said he had told the Social Democratic Party (LSDP) leaders that he would not sign off on any ministers from the Dawn of the Nemunas party, but might consider non-party “technocratic” candidates.
“They may try to put forward technocratic candidates. I don’t know who among self-respecting people would want to identify with the leader of this party,” Nausėda said.
The LSDP, the Dawn of the Nemunas, and the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” signed a coalition agreement on Monday. Under the agreement, the Dawn of the Nemunas will get to appoint three ministers: for environment, agriculture, and justice.
“I had a lot of questions as to whether this party would be able to present candidates who would be acceptable and who could be confirmed,” President Nausėda commented.
Žemaitaitis’ involvement in the ruling coalition has attracted criticism from Lithuania’s allies, including Germany which has agreed to deploy a brigade for the country’s defence. Nausėda said he hoped Berlin would not abandon the commitment, but it would take time to explain to the partners the situation in Lithuania and therefore the process could be slower.
Technocratic ministers
Reacting to President Nausėda’s comments, Žemaitaitis later said the Dawn of the Nemunas would nominate specialists in their respective fields rather than party members to ministerial posts.
“My goal is to have people who are capable and know how to work appointed ministers. My goal is to make sure that the ministers from our party do not bring shame to the party as we will have municipal elections in 2027 and the Seimas election in 2028,” he told BNS on Monday.
“So if the ruling majority works until the end of the term, those ministers, who will be technocrats, will contribute to the Dawn of the Nemunas’ promotion and raising its ratings,” he added.
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