President Gitanas Nausėda has given Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas two weeks to decide how to proceed amid growing pressure over his past and present business dealings, his adviser said following a meeting between the two politicians.
“The president has asked the prime minister to either give a reasoned answer to the questions raised by the public in the next two weeks, or to consider seriously his further options as prime minister,” Frederikas Janson told reporters on Thursday.
Paluckas himself said on Wednesday he would seek a vote of confidence in the parliament, Seimas. He reaffirmed his intention on Thursday, saying he would seek an open vote based on a parliamentary resolution rather than the interpellation procedure.
Paluckas’ decision comes as opposition parties prepare to initiate an extraordinary session of the Seimas, during which they may seek to launch impeachment proceedings against him.
A series of embarrassing investigative reports about Paluckas’ past and present businesses have appeared in recent weeks. Some of them are currently under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption and law enforcement bodies, while the prime minister himself insists he has not broken any laws.
Earlier this month, Laisvės TV and the investigative centre Siena reported that Paluckas only completed repayment of €16,500 in damages to the Vilnius municipality this July, nearly a decade after the agreed deadline. He apologised, calling it an honest mistake.
Separately, Redakcija revealed that between 2009 and 2014, Paluckas and an associate purchased a property in a state forest under questionable circumstances. Prosecutors later returned the land to the state.
The Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) is probing a €200,000 loan granted earlier this year to a company partially owned by Paluckas, while the Special Investigation Service (STT) is investigating his ties to another company and real estate deals from a decade ago.
On Wednesday, another report scrutinised an EU-funded project in which a company owned by Paluckas’ sister-in-law purchased equipment from the prime minister’s business.
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“In the president’s view, yesterday’s story is the first one that refers to events that took place while Mr Gintautas Paluckas was already prime minister,” Jansonas said. “This, in fact, influences the president’s position and attitude.”
Paluckas said on Thursday he was unaware that Garnis, a company in which he owns a 49% stake, had business ties with his sister-in-law..
“I am not involved in running the companies, so this information was also quite a surprise for me, but I know that my brother was certainly aware of the products developed by Garnis, because I had informed him about it,” he told reporters after the meeting with the president.
He promised to explain the situation in more detail to the public.
“This happened while I was already prime minister, so it is necessary to provide information to the public about all the circumstances,” Paluckas said, adding that, to his knowledge, everything was done properly and transparently.
Paluckas also said he is not ruling out resignation because of “attacks from political opponents”.
“Today, I am facing an ongoing major attack from political opponents and it is not very easy to face it psychologically, not only for me, although I am an experienced politician, but also for my family, business partners, other people involved, so any decision that I personally make has consequences. I mean for the coalition, for the government and for the party. That is why I can say today that I am considering all options very seriously, but what is very important for me is the trust of the party and the coalition partners,” Social Democrat leader said.
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