About 2,000 people gathered Tuesday outside the presidential office in Vilnius to protest Lithuania’s new governing coalition, accusing it of being unstable and too accommodating to pro-Russian voices. As the protesters marched across Gedimino Avenue to the parliament building, the crowd swelled to some 10,000, according to reports.
The demonstration, called “Day of Shame”, came a day after the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), Nemunas Dawn, the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, and the Christian Families Alliance signed a coalition agreement to form a new government.
Protesters carried signs reading “Shame on LSDP”, “No pro-Russian government”, and “The president is like giant hogweed – tall, handsome, but invasive?”
One of the organisers, journalist and civic activist Andrius Tapinas, told reporters the rally was a call for President Gitanas Nausėda to show more integrity when approving ministers. He criticised the coalition for including lawmakers who have opposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus.
“This coalition will have a very hard time governing,” Tapinas said. “It includes politicians with anti-state rhetoric and questionable loyalties. The president and Social Democrats are accepting this, and it will be very difficult for the inexperienced new prime minister to manage.”
Protest organisers submitted a petition to the president signed by supporters, warning that the coalition posed “a major threat to Lithuania’s statehood and prestige”. The petition urged Nausėda not to appoint ministers from Nemunas Dawn or the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania–Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS).
Nausėda said earlier Tuesday that he would continue to reject Nemunas Dawn candidates for ministerial posts but did not oppose LLRA-KŠS appointments, describing the party as a proven partner despite disagreements with its leader. He later met with six petition organisers at the presidential palace.
The rally included demonstrators of different ages. Ovidijus Motuzas, a 31-year-old IT specialist from Kaunas, said he opposed the coalition’s makeup. “What’s the best coalition for Putin? If this is the answer, then we need something different,” he told BNS. Agnė, a 19-year-old student from Lithuania studying in Germany, said she joined because she disagreed with the coalition’s values and wanted “to raise [her] voice”.
After the protest at Daukanto Square, demonstrators marched to Independence Square outside the parliament building, where lawmakers debated the nomination of Social Democrat Inga Ruginienė as prime minister.
A new government was required after former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned in July, following two pre-trial investigations linked to his business dealings.
The coalition controls 82 seats in the 141-member Seimas, with 52 held by the Social Democrats, 19 by Nemunas Dawn and 11 by the Farmers and Greens Union.
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