While Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas does not take issue with the statements made by the leader of the Nemuno Aušra, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the President’s Chief Advisor, Frederikas Jansonas, takes a different position. According to him, the statements made by the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra about Ukraine and defence funding are a problem for the country, lrytas.lt reported.
“We have to pay attention to the words because those words offend many of our partners and cause difficulties for our country,” Jansonas told Žinių Radijas on 4 February.
“(Nemuno Aušra) There are no works. We can still wait, but there are none. There are a lot of words, but nothing has been done (…) All we hear is external noise, which covers up the inaction”, he stressed.
As previously reported, the Head of Government told Elta that the coalition partner’s statements on Ukraine and the Russian threat or the distortion of the Head of State’s proposals, which has outraged the Presidency, have not yet had any real negative consequences.
Talk of a softening of Žemaitaitis’ rhetoric was a mistake
For his part, Jansonas admits that he made a mistake when, after the first round of the Seimas elections, he said that Žemaitaitis‘ rhetoric had started to change.
“It was expected that he would start behaving like a politician who is part of the ruling coalition and should not only spit but also work. This did not happen”, explained the Presidential Advisor.
“In this case, you always expect a person to be somewhat intelligent, somewhat talkative. Someone you can talk to. In this case, there was a certain mistake because time goes by and talking gets uglier and uglier,” he stressed.
Public insults benefit countries unfriendly to Lithuania
Referring to the disagreements between the coalition partners, visible in the public space, the Presidential Advisor stressed that such alleged divisions benefit Lithuania’s unfriendly states.
“Whether or not we need to escalate is the responsibility of the ruling coalition. Every public sharpening is an opportunity for hostile states to show that Lithuania is not united. (…) This public bashing only benefits the dislikers of the Lithuanian state,” said Jansonas.
However, he admits that Žemaitaitis’ statements about Ukraine must be explained to foreign partners.
“Those statements that offend countries that are friendly to Lithuania must be explained, which is shameful and painful. (…) What was said about Ukraine is a lie, what was said about Lithuania’s defence funding is a lie, and that lie has been responded to,” he said.
On Žemaitaitis, he calls for a coalition council: it is necessary to decide how much “dirt you can carry on you”
Frederikas Jansonas, Chief Adviser to the President, calls on the ruling party to convene a coalition council to discuss the recent public criticism of the statements of Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, which have been criticised in the public sphere. He said the coalition must finally decide how much “dirt it can carry on itself”.
“Since this (the coalition council – ELTA) is probably the only way for them to get together, and it is very rarely used, it would be nice if they could meet and talk, at least to begin with,” Jansonas told Žinių Radijas.
The Presidential Advisor suggests that Žemaitaitis tarnishes his reputation and the coalition with his statements.
“These are, first and foremost, the coalition’s decisions and approach to how things are going. But I say that if three men are walking hand in hand and the one in the middle is splashing mud in puddles, then everyone else stays in the mud,” said Jansonas.
“It’s either they have to calm down the one who likes to splash in the mud or decide how much mud they can carry on them,” he added.
However, according to Jansonas, the coalition’s fate will mostly depend on Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.
“Here is the position of the Prime Minister – whether he wants to reconcile them or whether he wants them to butt heads. These are his decisions. In any case, the President and the institution of the President – we are talking about Lithuania”, Jansonas said.
“This is not about whether Mr Skvernelis, Mr Paluckas and Mr Žemaitaitis love each other. The point is that they do what the Lithuanian people elected them to do and work for Lithuania,” he underlined.
He does not see the President’s responsibility
However, the President’s advisor also stresses that he does not think President Gitanas Nausėda, who blessed this ruling majority, bears responsibility for the current coalition.
“The Constitution of Lithuania is what it is; the coalition is formed whether the President wants it. There have been many coalitions that no President wanted, but they were formed. In this case, what the President could have done about the formation of the Government, he did, but how the three men agreed is a matter for them,” Jansonas said.
In recent weeks, the statements of the leader of Nemuno Aušra, Žemaitaitis, about Ukraine, Lithuanian security and defence funding have been criticised by his opponents, his coalition partners and the Presidency.
Žemaitaitis publicly criticised the National Defence Council’s (NSGK) decision to increase allocations for national defence significantly. When Saulius Skvernelis, the Speaker of the Seimas, urged politicians who questioned this to go to Ukraine, Žemaitaitis said he did not see the point.
ELTA recalls that recently, the statements of the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, Žemaitaitis, about Ukraine and Lithuania’s security have also resonated in the public space. The politician disagreed with the decisions of the National Defence Council (NSGK) to significantly increase defence funding. When the Speaker of the Seimas urged the politicians who had doubts to go to Ukraine, Žemaitaitis said he did not see the point.
At the same time, LNK žinios reported on Wednesday that during meetings with voters, Žemaitaitis had accused President Gitanas Nausėda of proposing nationalising people’s deposits and using them for defence. The politician also believes that sanctions on the transit of Belarusian fertiliser should be lifted to obtain additional funds for national defence.
For his part, the country’s President, Gitanas Nausėda, said changes in the ruling majority could be inevitable due to Žemaitaitis’ statements. Assessing the statements made by the Nemuno Aušra in recent weeks, the President noted that Žemaitaitis is becoming similar to Eduardas Vaitkus, who has pro-Russian views.
At the same time, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas was reluctant to exaggerate Žemaitaitis’ statements. The Head of Government is convinced that the coalition partner’s statements about Ukraine and the Russian threat, or the distortion of the Head of State’s proposals, which have outraged the Presidency, have not yet had any real negative consequences.
However, the Speaker of the Seimas, Saulius Skvernelis, disagrees with this position of the Prime Minister. According to him, the prospects of Nemuno Aušra in the ruling majority should be discussed in the coalition council. Therefore, the politician does not rule out the possibility that if the Social Democrats do not continue to take the initiative on this issue, a coalition council meeting will be convened by the democrats, led by him and called by the Democrats Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania).
Be the first to comment