Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has announced his intention to resign as both head of government and leader of the Social Democratic Party amid mounting political pressure and ongoing investigations into his past business dealings, according to LRT.lt sources. The party’s executive board is expected to vote on the matter Thursday.
The decision comes after Democratic Union “For Lithuania” leader and Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis declared his party would not remain in the governing coalition if Paluckas continued to serve as prime minister. Skvernelis met with President Gitanas Nausėda on Wednesday to discuss the political crisis.
The pressure intensified Thursday morning after Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) raided Dankora, a company owned by Paluckas’ sister-in-law. The company had received European Union subsidies and used them to purchase battery systems from Garnis, a company partially owned by the prime minister.
President Gitanas Nausėda later confirmed the prime minister’s intentions to step down.
“Gintautas Paluckas called me this morning and informed me of his resignation,” Nausėda told reporters.
He said Paluckas had made the only right choice: “I welcome his decision.”
President Nausėda had earlier given Paluckas two weeks to either respond to growing public concerns or reconsider his position. Paluckas went on a two-week vacation during that period, but developments continued to unfold rapidly.
Under Lithuania’s Constitution, the prime minister is appointed and dismissed by the president with the approval of the Seimas.
Who could succeed Paluckas?
According to party sources, three scenarios are being considered should Paluckas step down or lose the support of either the president or the Social Democratic Party.
One option is appointing First Deputy Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas, who has expressed willingness to assume the role. Other potential candidates include Vilnius District Mayor Robert Duchnevič and Jonava Mayor Mindaugas Sinkevičius. Social Security and Labour Minister Inga Ruginienė is also being mentioned among potential candidates.
A split leadership scenario is also on the table, in which Olekas would become prime minister while Sinkevičius would take over party leadership.
Scandals that sparked the crisis
The current scandal stems from an investigative report by Laisvės TV and the journalism centre Siena, which revealed that Garnis, co-founded by Paluckas and a business partner, received a subsidised €200,000 loan from the national development bank while Paluckas was already serving as prime minister. The loan is now under investigation by Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission.
Another report revealed that Paluckas’ former company, Sagerta, had received and failed to repay large loans from Uni Trading, a firm linked to businessman Darijus Vilčinskas. In 2012, Paluckas also purchased a €223,000 property from a Vilčinskas-owned company, despite previously denying any business ties with the entrepreneur. Vilčinskas later confirmed he had invested in Paluckas’ firm.
In a third report, Siena and Laisvės TV found that a Cypriot company sold Paluckas a discounted apartment in central Vilnius in 2012, on a plot of land he had overseen as a senior official at the Vilnius City Municipality.
It was also revealed that Paluckas only paid off the remaining €4,900 of a €16,500 debt to the municipality on July 8. The debt was tied to a 2012 court ruling in what became known as the “rat case”.
The final blow came when it was revealed that Dankora, the company owned by Paluckas’ sister-in-law and founded in 2024, had received EU funding – most of which was spent on purchasing goods from Garnis, in which the prime minister holds a 49% stake. After public outcry, Dankora returned the funds.
Paluckas has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Before he went on the summer break, the Social Democratic Party’s presidium issued a statement backing him, calling the government’s performance stable and effective, and urging that he remain in office until legal authorities conclude their investigations into his business activities and assets.
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