Energy minister’s dismissal unlikely to split Lithuanian government, experts say

Jūratė Novagrockienė of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University told BNS on Tuesday that following Neverovič’s dismissal, his party “has the opportunity to politically blackmail its partners” by threatening to leave the ruling coalition. But even if such a decision was made, it would hardly have influence on the coalition’s work, she said.

“One or the other response of the LLRA is highly likely. Perhaps they will use the opportunity to once again complain about being mistreated. And the most radical step would be leaving the coalition, which is very possible. Judging from the LLRA leader’s radical statements and actions, it’s possible that they will take such measures to make a statement. But if that happens, I don’t think the coalition would suffer as it would still have a majority in parliament,” she said.

Political scientist Alvidas Lukošaitis also said the ruling coalition would still have enough members even if the Polish party left. Its decision to leave the ruling block, however, might be influenced by the upcoming municipal elections in February or March.

“I would also think about the upcoming municipal elections, as that would be the LLRA’s obvious game, that’s no surprise,” Lukošaitis told BNS.