Lies, disrespect and mockery: experts assess Blinkevičiūtė’s “gift” to voters without scruples

From mocking messages flooding social networks to harsh criticism from political experts, the decision of the Social Democrats’ flag-bearer in the Seimas elections, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, to break her promise not to run for the premiership has caused a storm of emotions lrytas.lt reports.

According to Lrytas, on Wednesday, while the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) presidium was still in session, it was as if the whole country was discussing the hunch that had been circulating for several days that Blinkevičiūtė, who had been at the forefront of the Social Democrats, would step down and return to a more contented and less stressful daily life in the European Parliament (EP).

Soon afterwards, she did so.

Political analyst Ignas Kalpokas used the words ” elementary disrespect and mockery of voters” to describe Ms Blinkevičiūtė decision on Thursday in the LRT radio programme Ryto Garsai (Morning Sounds).

“It is better to have another Prime Minister than one who is neither willing nor able. The question is – did nobody know this before the election campaign? And if they did know and Vilija Blinkevičiūtė was still promoted as the future Prime Minister. The main problem is deception and the attitude towards voters that they can be told anything and sold anything, because they will still forgive”, – said Kalpokas.

Communication expert Berta Čaikauskaitė also described the situation, which both Blinkevičiūtė and Gintautas Paluckas, who is running for Prime Minister, and other party members have tried to mitigate in every way.

“To put it bluntly, this is a lie. It is obvious that the voters have been deceived,” she said.

However, the expert suggested looking at the situation more broadly – not only through the prism of Blinkevičiūtė.

“Now Blinkevičiūtė is being singled out because she refused the post of Prime Minister. But the Social Democratic Party took part in the elections. The leader of the party is just one of the party members. We have to understand that no matter how strong the position is, everything is decided within the party. There are the people, the electoral staff, and those who shape the political campaign. This situation reminds me of the film “The tail wags the dog”, where it is clearly shown how a political campaign is formed in order to win an election,” she told LRT radio.

According to her, the Social Democrats could have known in advance that without Blinkevičiūtė, the party would not have such a bright tomorrow in the elections, which is why they chose such a direction.

“Everybody did their research and it was obvious that without her, they would not win the elections so easily or so well. This is a complex issue, so it should not be singled out that only Blinkevičiūtė lied.

In my opinion, the whole political campaign was built on lies and the whole party lied,” said Čaikauskaitė.

Liberal Eugenijus Gentvilas, who spoke on Žinių Radijas a couple of hours before the decision was made public, also reminded us of the weight of the MEP’s purse: “She wants to work in the EP. The income there is EUR 19 000 if you attend meetings all day. The daily allowance is like that. There was no need for frills here. It sounds like voter fraud and it will be difficult for the Social Democrats to explain”.

The portal Lrytas recalls that on Wednesday, after the presidium meeting, Blinkevičiūtė also gave reasons for the decision. As expected, she spoke about her age and health.

“I am convinced that it would be difficult for a Prime Minister who is almost 65 to work. I am just retired and I have really appreciated during the whole election period how responsible the job would be, how much it requires health and strength. I am very sincere in saying that I have to take decisions that will make the Government and the Prime Minister fit for office,” said Ms Blinkevičiūtė. When journalists reminded her of her promise two months ago that she would definitely be Prime Minister, Blinkevičiūtė evaded.

“I say once again that the most important thing is that the people of Lithuania voted for the Social Democrats. The most important thing is that the Social Democrats, having received confidence, form such a Government and such a ruling majority that decisions will actually be taken on pension accumulation, road infrastructure, access to health care and education,” said Blinkevičiūtė.

Not only some voters or experts were disappointed by the decision of Blinkevičiūtė, but also the leaders of the two parties with which a ruling coalition has been discussed so far, Saulius Skvernelis and Ramūnas Karbauskis, were also critical of it.

And Ingrida Šimonytė, the Chair of the Conservatives, reacted sharply to Blinkevičiūtė’s antics.

“If Ms Vilija has deceived anyone, it is the voters who believed in her. I, for obvious reasons, have never been a voter of Ms Vilija’s, but I am glad that Ms Vilija will not be Prime Minister. After all, what is the last thing Ms Vilija has done in Lithuania besides renting her body for an election campaign?”, she wrote on Facebook.