LFGU leader doubts party’s MPs would back president status for Landsbergis

Karbauskis told BNS on Friday that he would not back such a proposal, stressing that Pranckietis, the speaker of the Seimas, had not discussed the initiative with the party’s political group in the parliament.

“To expect that the majority of us or a part of us will support the decision — I wouldn’t be sure about that,” the LFGU leader said.

“Personally, I agree with the Constitutional Court‘s conclusion that (the statuses are) not identical. I would not support such a decision,” he told BNS.

The court has ruled that the status of the speaker of the Supreme Council–Reconstituent Seimas of 1990-1992 is not identical to the status of the president as the head of state as set out in the Constitution.

The LFGU group plans to discuss this issue next week.

Pranckietis, one of the LFGU leaders, has told the daily Lietuvos Rytas that, in his opinion, Landsbergis was the head of state between 1990 and 1992 and should be granted this status. However, the speaker made it clear that he would seek majority support before tabling the proposal to the parliament.

Landsbergis presided over the Supreme Council when it adopted the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania on March 11, 1990. Under his leadership, Lithuania managed to withstand the Soviet Unions’ economic blockade and gained international recognition.