Lithuania's Social Democratic leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius has said his party will convene a coalition council meeting to demand explanations after several ruling coalition partners voted against a key military training ground project in parliament.
"The party has decided to organise a coalition council meeting in the near future to discuss these issues: to hear our colleagues' explanations and arguments as to why this universally understood and necessary state decision was not supported by our coalition partners," Sinkevičius told reporters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, has said he will continue to vote against the Kapčiamiestis military training area legislation and is unconcerned by the coalition council meeting called by his Social Democrat partners in response.
"Žemaitaitis will not change [his position], Žemaitaitis voted against and will continue to vote against," he told reporters on Thursday.
While the draft law on the Kapčiamiestis military training ground passed its first reading, all those who voted against it came from within the ruling coalition. Sinkevičius made it clear that the meeting would address both coalition partners – Nemunas Dawn and the Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union.
"This joint faction [Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union] has 11 members. While we see the political ambitions of individual politicians, we treat them as 11 majority parliamentarians. When 6 out of 11 vote against, it is only natural to ask what happened with the rest and what to expect," he said.
Sinkevičius described the coalition council talks as the first step in determining the future of the ruling majority, allowing time to resolve internal tensions before the legislation moves to further parliamentary stages.
"We have some time until then to clarify our relations: where this lack of support or political demonstration comes from and what it is based on," he said.
He added that the matter would serve as a decisive test for the coalition.
"This will certainly be a litmus test for the coalition's work, which the party council will evaluate on April 16," he said, stressing that the Social Democrats would approach any decisions regarding the coalition responsibly.
The vote
The draft law on the Kapčiamiestis military training ground passed its first reading with 102 votes in favour, 10 against and 5 abstentions. All those who voted against came from within the ruling majority: 7 members of Nemunas Dawn, including party leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis, and 3 members of the Lithuanian Peasants, Greens and Christian Families Union faction. A further 4 Nemunas Dawn members and 1 Democrat 'for Lithuania' abstained.
"The Social Democrats view the behaviour or position of our coalition partners in the vote negatively, as they failed to support a decision of critical importance to our national security, defence, and the military," Sinkevičius said.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė described the first vote on establishing the Kapčiamiestis training ground as historic, but declined to comment on the coalition partners' decision to vote against it.
The President's Office said the coalition should be able to resolve issues of such importance without relying on opposition votes.
Updated: added Žemaitaitis' response.
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