The council of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) has voted to join the ruling coalition alongside the Social Democrats and Nemunas Dawn.
“After constructive negotiations with the ruling parties, the council of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union has decided to enter the governing coalition,” Arvydas Nekrošius, the party’s deputy chair and mayor of Raseiniai district, announced on Facebook on Friday evening.
The decision was confirmed to BNS by Aušrinė Norkienė, the party’s first deputy chair, who said the vote was not unanimous.
“The majority supported joining the coalition, while three council members opposed,” she told BNS. MP Dainius Gaižauskas later said on Facebook that he voted against the move.
According to the head of the joint Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union parliamentary group (LVŽS and LLRA-KŠS), the decision was taken in order to deliver on promises made to voters.
“Simply put, the arguments in favour carried more weight – that it is better to try to fulfil promises to our electorate from within the government, as they would likely remain out of reach in opposition,” Norkienė said.
“While we are aware that we are entering a challenging political situation, we hope to remain constructive and ffocus on our own commitments. I believe our key political values remain: respect for people, work, strengthening the regions, making sure that politicians act fairly and responsibly, and supporting families and Lithuania as a whole,” she continued.
Though Norkienė stressed that Friday’s council meeting dealt only with the coalition question, not with the distribution of ministerial posts, ELTA reports that LVŽS leader Aurelijus Veryga claimed that his political unit (LVŽS and LLRA-KŠS) will take charge of the Ministries of Economy and Justice.
“Today, we did not focus on the ministerial posts question. The negotiations focused on the areas in which we would be able to advance most of our commitments. We aren't too happy because we did not receive the Ministries that govern social policy and agriculture – the fields where we have the greatest number of measures,” he said.
Veryga confirmed that the post of Justice Minister will likely go to one of the members of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS) but the final decision will be made when the government is formed.
Leader of Social Democrats Mindaugas Sinkevičius said that in the coming days the coalition agreement would be finalised and signed, providing “a solid basis for smooth and effective cooperation”.
Following the resignation of former prime minister Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democrats began consultations on forming a new governing coalition. They invited Nemunas Dawn and replaced their current coaltion partners – 'Democrats’ For Lithuania' with the Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union.
The previous coalition controlled 86 seats in the 141-seat Seimas. The new coalition will hold 4 seats less and will be made up of 52 Social Democrats, 19 from Nemunas Dawn and 11 from the Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union.
The joint parliamentary group currently consists of six LVŽS MPs, two independents elected on the party’s list – Ignas Vėgėlė and Rimas Jonas Jankūnas – and three members of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS).
Updated: Included context and comments by Norkienė, Gaižauskas and Sinkevičius. Correction on negotiations regarding ministerial posts – new information from Veryga.
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