Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he does not see the current ruling coalition surviving with the Nemunas Dawn party whose leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis has expressed doubts about raising military spending.
“If Mr Žemaitaitis continues to discredit not only himself, but also the entire country, in the eyes of foreign partners and Ukraine already, then I don’t see any prospect for this coalition to work in the future and I think we are talking about a relatively short period of time when changes will be inevitable because everybody will realise that it is inevitable,” the president said in an interview with the Verslo Žinios daily.
His comment came amid the ongoing verbal altercation between Žemaitaitis and his coalition partner, Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis.
Their latest clash was over Lithuania’s plans to increase defence spending. According to Skvernelis, Žemaitaitis is spreading disinformation during his meetings with voters, talking about the planned sources of defence funding and criticising the president.
Skvernelis, who leads the Democrats “For Lithuania” party, believes that such statements are not in line with the coalition agreement and is waiting for the major coalition partner, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, to convene a coalition council meeting.
The president said that the future of the existing ruling coalition – involving the Social Democrats, the Democrats “For Lithuania”, and the Nemunas Dawn – was uncertain.
Nausėda also suggested that Žemaitaitis harbours pro-Russian sentiments, comparing him to Eduardas Vaitkus, a former pro-Russian presidential candidate.
“The worst thing is that Žemaitaitis is turning into Vaitkus. He somehow managed to mask his stance before the election, and now he is taking off his mask and those who elected Žemaitaitis got a Vaitkus,” Nausėda said.
“From the state’s point of view, having a pro-Russian politician who is becoming more and more obvious is too much of a luxury nowadays,” the president added.
The president has previously called the inclusion of the Nemunas Dawn in the coalition a “mistake”.
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