Following the resignation of the culture minister and large-scale protests over the Nemunas Dawn party taking charge of the ministry, the Social Democrat-led coalition appears shaky. Contradictory comments come from party leaders, while the opposition is talking about a minority government.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said she will not engage in “games of ministerial swaps” emphasising that her top priority is maintaining stability within the government.
Her comments came after Social Democratic Party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius suggested that his party may be having doubts regarding the composition of the ruling coalition. President Gitanas Nausėda said he has no plans to play an active role in the coalition’s internal matters.
Prime Minister Ruginienė, who recently returned from visits to Ukraine and Poland, is once again facing coalition turbulence. She said she did not discuss political issues with the president during their meeting but did not rule out potential talks about changes in the coalition’s makeup.
“So far, I have not received the name of a candidate for culture minister,” she said. “Right now, my main mission is to ensure stability in the government. I will not start any games involving ministerial swaps, because it is critically important to focus on the goals set out in the government’s program.”
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, dismissed the Social Democrats’ speculation about possible coalition changes as confusion and a lack of leadership. He said his party does not currently plan to leave the coalition.
Asked whether members of his party had suggested withdrawing from the governing coalition and moving to the opposition, Žemaitaitis acknowledged that such discussions had taken place.
“Yes, indeed. The majority of our faction in the parliament – 15 out of 19 members – said so,” he noted. “But I convinced them that we are a state-oriented political force. We must take responsibility and cannot allow early elections, even though they might benefit Nemunas Dawn.”
President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that political parties themselves must decide who they want to align with in the coalition – and that he would not babysit them.
“The coalition’s strength is currently being tested by the fact that we do not have a head for one of the ministries,” Nausėda said. “There are ongoing intensive consultations between the parties, but I would not want to act as a kindergarten teacher telling them who should be friends with whom.”
Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the opposition Democrats “For Lithuania” party, described the situation as “chaos”. He said his party is not considering joining the ruling majority if Nemunas Dawn were to leave.
“The Social Democrats must make their decision – once they do, everything will fall into place,” Skvernelis said. “If the decision is made together with the president, that will also matter. But if the president now says he will no longer be involved in forming the coalition, then it’s all in the hands of the Social Democrats.”
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the opposition conservative Homeland Union (TS-LKD), said that if Nemunas Dawn were to withdraw, the conservatives would consider supporting a minority government.
“I would see that as a possible scenario,” Kasčiūnas said. “We would aim to be as constructive and pragmatic as possible for the sake of the state, national security, and to prevent Žemaitaitis from making our country a hostage of his party.”
He added that early elections are unlikely, as it would be difficult to find 86 PMs willing to vote in favour of dissolving the parliament.
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