Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė no longer wants Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė on her team. On Wednesday morning, after meeting with President Gitanas Nausėda, Ruginienė confirmed that she would accept the minister’s resignation request and had already taken the initiative herself, Agnė Liubertaitė says in lrytas.lt.
“I can say that, speaking of the Minister of National Defence, we have received feedback from the Prime Minister that trust has been lost, and since there is no trust, joint work with the Minister is not possible.
But at this point, I would also like to emphasise that it is now imperative to select a suitable Minister of National Defence, as the defence budget is an absolute priority for both us and the Prime Minister,” said Deividas Matulionis, Senior Advisor to the President, after the meeting.
The Prime Minister herself confirmed this news shortly afterwards.
“I am submitting the dismissal of the Minister of National Defence to the President,” Ruginienė assured.
According to her, this decision was communicated to Nausėda verbally.
“My written submission will follow shortly. That is probably the main message here. I definitely want to emphasise that I will do everything I can to ensure that the defence budget remains in place and continues to grow,” Ruginienė stressed.
Several possible candidates have already been identified
According to the head of government, very difficult decisions have to be made, but she cannot allow misunderstandings and disruptions in such an important area as national defence.
Ruginienė claims that the conversation with the country’s leader was businesslike, and their opinions essentially coincided.
“We discussed several candidates. I am ready for this, and as soon as the time comes, I will announce it to you immediately,” the prime minister promised when asked who could replace Šakalienė.
“My priority is to make this decision as soon as possible, and I will do so. I will definitely not discuss people and positions now,” said the head of government.
Minister of the Interior Vladislavas Kondratovičius will temporarily head the Ministry of National Defence.
According to Ruginienė, Šakalienė has not yet submitted her resignation.
“But now I have submitted it,” she added.
She gave three reasons
Ruginienė also gave three specific reasons why her trust in Šakalienė has been destroyed.
“First – lies. I have always said that openness will open any door. I have never punished anyone for mistakes, because we are all human and we all make mistakes, but I really cannot accept lying.
Second, it is essential to me how employees feel in the team. I come from that field, and I hear their voices.
And the third thing consists of various small details. The events that have taken place in recent weeks were just the final straw, but certain things had been brewing for a long time.
Apparently, this decision came sooner, but it may have been inevitable,” admitted the prime minister, adding that she does not see any possibility for Šakalienė to remain in the Ministry of National Defence in any form.
Ruginienė’s government has not even been in office for a month, but it has already lost its second minister. Now it will be necessary to find a new head not only for the Ministry of Culture, but also for the Ministry of National Defence.
“I said that I really hope every minister will work responsibly and honestly, and if that doesn’t happen, I’m definitely ready to make even the toughest decisions. I regret that I had to make this decision; it is a challenging moment for me, but I have kept my promise. Ministers must work responsibly and be dedicated to their field,” said the prime minister.
Defence Minister Šakalienė, who had already written her resignation letter, was briefly stopped on Tuesday by President Gitanas Nausėda. The head of state asked her to wait until he could discuss the situation with the prime minister.
On Wednesday morning, the head of government arrived at the Presidential Palace, where she intended to clarify why such sparks had flown between the leadership of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), including Ruginienė and Šakalienė, and how to resolve the situation.
What happened?
The Minister of National Defence incurred the wrath of the Prime Minister and LSDP Chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius last week when it became clear that an unofficial meeting with public figures and journalists had taken place at the ministry, during which ministry representatives allegedly claimed that next year’s defence budget would be smaller than it actually is.
By discussing questions about the defence budget behind closed doors, Šakalienė undermined the prime minister’s trust. At the same time, Sinkevičius explained that his colleague had acted in an unprofessional manner, even accusing her of manipulation and noting that the minister had taken advantage of the tension that had arisen.
However, Šakalienė herself claimed that there had been a misunderstanding.
In addition, the Social Democrat explained to journalists that the initial budget draft presented in early October did indeed allocate significantly less funding to national defence, less than 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
But, the head of the Ministry of National Defence later stated that she could not work without feeling confident, so she indicated that she had already written a letter of resignation. With this news, she went to see President Nausėda on Tuesday afternoon, but the head of state asked her to wait until after he met with Ruginienė.
Ruginienė herself had stated earlier that she had not heard of any intentions to resign from her government colleague.
“She has not yet announced this decision to me. Let’s wait for the minister to make the announcement, then I will be able to answer questions,” said the prime minister.
However, according to her, if the minister does indeed resign, the Social Democrats will find a candidate to replace her.
“I believe that this is our ministry, the Social Democrats’ ministry. If the minister does indeed resign, we will be ready,” said Ruginienė.
“We haven’t really planned anything yet, but if there is a need, I am always ready to meet,” replied the prime minister when asked if she would talk to the minister again.
Next year’s draft state budget allocates 5.38% of gross domestic product (GDP), or EUR 4.79 billion, to defence.
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