After Nausėda meeting with Budrys, the opposition retorts to the candidate’s “cooling off “

Kęstutis Budrys, the President’s Senior Adviser, who has been nominated for the post of Minister of foreign affairs, does not say whether he first discussed the possibility of taking up the post with President Gitanas Nausėda or with the Prime Minister-designate, Gintautas Paluckas. According to ELTA sources, he believes that he first heard such discussions in the form of “gossip,” lrytas.lt reported

“We have also (…) discussed this with the Prime Minister-designate. I will not say exactly when it was now. (…) But I can guarantee you that I heard it (the idea – ELTA) in the form of a braid before someone had started talking to me directly about it, that it was possible,” Budrys said after meeting with the President.

However, Budrys did not answer whether he had first discussed the possibility of heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) with the President or with the Prime Minister.

“I will not answer you now,” he said.

Budrys does not believe he should be subject to a “cooling-off period.”

Budrys also disagreed with the opposition’s claims that his candidacy should be subject to a “cooling-off period.” The Presidential Adviser points out that the Minister’s position is not subject to the requirement of political neutrality.

“I would understand the meaning of this issue regarding positions or institutions subject to the requirement of political neutrality and impartiality. This is about a clear political position, for which nobody is demanding neutrality,” said Budrys.

“If it were some other institutions, let’s say (…) – the Department of State Security, yes, they aim to be completely impartial. There is no such requirement in this place”, he added.

The Presidential Adviser reacted to Liberal leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen’s remark that she wondered whether the Presidential Adviser nominated for the post of Foreign Minister should be subject to a “cooling-off period.”

Budrys argues that appointing a person from the President’s team to the Foreign Ministry would help ensure a common direction in foreign policy between the Government and the Presidency. Therefore, he said, this would be an advantage for Lithuania.

“From the point of view of political practice, it is a great advantage that we can already see a guaranteed political coherence between the will of the Government, the will of the Prime Minister and the will of the President in the selection of such a post and in the approximate direction that we will follow,” he said.

The appointment of ambassadors will aim to meet everyone’s expectations

Budrys, who is in the process of becoming Head of Diplomacy, says he will try to avoid the misunderstandings over the appointment of ambassadors that were evident during the last mandate. The search for diplomats will aim to meet the expectations of all stakeholders.

“It will not be the case that someone will have the last word; it is not a consensus. It is a directive or a subordination. A procedure is in place to ensure that this is the role of the Minister, the Prime Minister, the President and the Seimas. We will look for candidates to meet everyone’s expectations so that everyone is equally satisfied or dissatisfied,” said Budrys.

“This is our strength as a small country, that we can avoid divisive situations where our diplomats undeservedly become part of the headlines and media content,” he stressed.

In Budrys’ opinion, the appointment of ambassadors is a sensitive area, and we must avoid self-created problems.

“Everything will be done smoothly and clearly, and nobody will have any doubts about the procedures in the MFA or how the coordination process is organised. We have had several situations where an appointment or a decision has been the subject of political tension, but not the cause, and here we have created problems for ourselves in sensitive areas, where we have to be monolithic,” the adviser reflected.

This term, following disputes between the Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) over the Ambassador to Poland, the two institutions have been at loggerheads for several months over all the ambassadorial appointments planned for 2024.

Assistance to Ukraine is one of the main topics

According to the candidate, the meeting with the President focused on assisting Ukraine and strengthening cooperation with Lithuania’s allies.

“The conversation with the President (…) was about what we need to do shortly to strengthen and deepen our alliances, to weaken hostile alliances that are oriented towards revisionism, towards the revision of the world order,” Budrys said.

“And one of the most important topics, which is where we started, is how we should strengthen Ukraine and our next steps and actions. He said, “Here in the short term and looking a bit further ahead”.

Budrys also stressed the importance of the forthcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the European Union (EU).

“2027 will be a big challenge for Lithuania; we have done it before, we have a lot of competent people, we have a lot of experience, it will require the mobilisation of organisational and human capital, and we will do it,” the candidate said.

“There was also talk of strengthening cooperation between different institutions in the field of foreign policy,” he added.

Relations with China were not discussed in detail

Budrys claims that relations with China were not discussed in detail during his meeting with the President. However, the candidate for the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs position points out that Lithuania can share its experience with countries currently facing China’s coercive policies.

“We have much to share with other countries that may or are currently facing China’s coercive policies. This is a priority for us here,” Budrys said.

“The other thing, of course, is to weaken any support from third countries to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine. These are the most important things for me in my work,” he added.

ELTA recalls that Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas presented to President Gitanas Nausėda the candidates for the future Government on 21. November.

After the meeting, the Prime Minister told reporters he had named most of the candidates nominated by the Social Democrats, who won the elections. The nomination for the position of Minister of National Defence is that of MP Dovilė Šakalienė, for Social Security and Labour – MP Inga Ruginienė, for Transport and Communications – Social Democrat Eugenijus Sabutis, for Education, Science and Sport – Raminta Popovienė, for Foreign Affairs – Presidential Adviser Budrys, and for Home Affairs – Mayor of Alytus Nerijus Cesiulis.

Of the nine ministries to which the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) is delegating the heads, the nominations for the Ministers of Finance and Health remain unclear.

Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania) has nominated MP Lukas Savickas for the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and Žygimantas Vaičiūnas for the Ministry of Energy.

Paluckas has not disclosed Nemuno Aušra’s candidates for the Environment, Justice and Agriculture Ministries.