Amid mounting questions over his past financial dealings, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas is drawing concern from within his own party, according to a senior figure in the Social Democratic Party.
“There are an enormous number of questions within the party,” Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, honorary chairman of the Social Democratic Party and a member of the European Parliament, told LRT TV’s Dienos tema programme on Tuesday. “We now need to focus and seek solutions, because this undoubtedly affects the credibility, ratings and prospects of the Social Democratic Party as a whole.”
Andriukaitis said the situation requires internal discussions, including direct talks with Paluckas.
“We will have to talk. One way or another, we will need to discuss things with Gintautas and hear his responses,” he said.
Andriukaitis said he urged Paluckas to gather and present all relevant information concerning the past incidents currently under public scrutiny.
“I believe he is doing so. But it’s not that simple – you have to contact the municipality, banks, partners, and so on,” Andriukaitis said.
He emphasised that official institutions are also conducting investigations, and their work will be based on facts, not media speculation.
“This is being investigated by institutions that are working with factual material, not just media questions. And that material is now of critical importance,” he added.
He said the examination of factual evidence will be central to the party’s internal deliberations.
While Andriukaitis did not rule out the possibility of nominating a new prime minister, he stressed that no hasty decisions would be made.
“If needed, we have other capable candidates – from Robert Duchnevič and Nerijus Cesiulis to Juozas Olekas. We even have several trusted and experienced MPs in the Seimas,” he said.
“We need to have plans A, B and C – and we do. The most important thing now is not to rush or be pushed into following someone else’s script. We have our own plan. There will be board meetings, presidium meetings, and party council sessions,” he said.
Last week, Laisvės TV and the Investigative Journalism Centre Siena reported that Paluckas only finished repaying a €16,500 debt to the Vilnius municipality this July — nearly a decade late. He had originally agreed to repay it by the end of 2015 in a case referred to in local media as the “rat scandal”. Paluckas said he had simply forgotten and publicly apologized.
Meanwhile, Redakcija reported Monday that Paluckas was involved in a murky land acquisition deal on Laurų Street in Vilnius between 2009 and 2014.
Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service (STT) and the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) have launched pretrial investigations into other businesses linked to the prime minister.
Following the Laisvės TV and Siena publication, FNTT began reviewing how a €200,000 loan granted six months ago by national development bank ILTE was used by Garnis, a company partially owned by Paluckas. He was questioned as a witness in that case last week.
Separately, STT launched a probe following further media reports raising questions about Paluckas’ involvement a decade ago with the company Sagerta, loans and real estate transactions, and his ties to businessman Darijus Vilčinskas.
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