The proposal to revoke the law granting Supreme Council Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis the status of the head of state is fuelling division in Lithuania, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has said.
“I didn’t support this proposal in the last parliamentary term because I believe that heads of state are elected, and you cannot give or take away that status by law. And since you cannot give or take it away, following the same logic, I see no need to debate it now,” Paluckas told reporters.
“In the face of all these geopolitical changes, we are now trying to unite, to stand together, and to build trust in one another. But this initiative is once again [...] splitting Lithuania in two. Some people love the professor [Landsbergis], others hate him – why stir this up now? We’ve got more complex issues to deal with,” he added.
Adopted on June 30, 2022, the law states that the chairman of the Supreme Council held and exercised the constitutional powers of the head of state between March 11, 1990, and November 25, 1992. Landsbergis held the post during that period.
In the final vote, the bill was supported by 74 MPs, mostly from the then-ruling conservative Homeland Union, the Liberal Movement, and the Freedom Party.
The new proposal to repeal the law was registered by Rimas Jonas Jankūnas, a member of the political group of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union and the Christian Families Alliance.
Jankūnas argues that the law granting the status of the head of state to Landsbergis is unconstitutional.
Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis said earlier this week that the proposal to revoke the law “isn’t a key issue” at the moment. He did not vote in favour of its adoption in the previous parliament.
Under Landsbergis’ leadership, the Supreme Council declared Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. In Lithuania, the head of state is considered the president. However, the country only established the post with a new constitution in 1992.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
