Lithuania’s intermin to look into drunken MP incident

“I cannot comment on why the VIP protection people only reported it 20 minutes later. Maybe they were not certain or possibly did not see clear signs, maybe they didn’t read the media. However, if they were certain (about his drunken condition), they should not have let him, regardless of the MP immunity. We will look into this to find out whether they lacked information, whether they did not know,” Misiūnas told journalists at the parliament on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, officers of the VIP Protection Department reported to the police that MP Balsys had left the parliament by car in what appeared to be a drunken condition.

Paulius Radvilavičius of the Vilnius police said a report had come in at 12:12 p.m. about Balsys having left the parliament building in central part of the city in his VW Caddy shortly before noon.

Balsys, the leader of the Lithuanian Green Party, agreed to blow into a breathalyzer device when asked to by journalists, producing a reading of 1.82 per mille of alcohol.

Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis dismissed the situation as intolerable, if the MP had indeed been drinking and driving. In his words, impeachment cannot be ruled out.

“It is intolerable and incomprehensible for a man to come to work in a drunken condition, especially when it comes to a member of the Seimas,” Skvernelis told journalists at the parliament.