Lithuania has a new prime minister – Inga Ruginienė will lead the new cabinet of ministers. After lengthy discussions in the Seimas chamber, parliamentarians finally approved Ruginienė candidacy, Indrė Naureckaitė states in lrytas.lt.
Seventy-eight members of Parliament voted for Ruginienė, which is fewer than the number of seats held by the new ruling majority. Thirty-five voted against Ruginienė, while 14 abstained, most of whom were former partners in the Democratic Party faction.
Once Ruginienė is confirmed as Prime Minister, she will have to present the cabinet of ministers, formed and approved by the President, to Parliament within 15 days of her appointment and submit the Government’s program to the Seimas for consideration.
The government will be empowered to act once the Seimas approves its program by a majority vote of the members present at the session.
Conservatives did not spare their criticism
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Chairman of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), commenting on the position of the Conservative faction, did not spare harsh words for both the Social Democrats and Ruginienė herself.
Kasčiūnas said he had to conclude that the Social Democratic Party, which has the largest faction in the Seimas, is in crisis. According to him, those who could and should hold the position of prime minister are not doing so, while those who lack experience or are not suitable are “climbing into every possible position”.
The Conservative leader emphasised that the Social Democratic candidate Ruginienė is ambitious, friendly and ‘disarming with her warm smile’. After these words, laughter and applause broke out in the Seimas chamber, because, as photographers had captured earlier, Kasčiūnas himself had been ‘disarmed’ during the Conservative faction’s meeting with the candidate.
However, according to Kasčiūnas, these qualities of Ruginienė do not compensate for her lack of political experience.
“In less than a year, the Social Democrats are irresponsibly pushing Lithuania into yet another, already the second political experiment,” the Conservative politician said.
Kasčiūnas said that the Conservatives cannot support Ruginienė candidacy – according to the politician, by voting “for” her candidacy, the Conservatives would cross not only ideological but also red lines.
Žemaitaitis spoke about the Conservatives
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, said that a few weeks ago, Ruginienė “burst onto the Lithuanian political scene like a comet”. According to him, she was “new and wonderful” to everyone. However, this was followed by a barrage of mudslinging and slander, although, according to Žemaitaitis, it was all staged.
“In the end, the day of democracy dawned,” he said.
However, the faction’s position on Ruginienė soon shifted toward the Conservatives in Žemaitaitis speech. For example, Žemaitaitis recalled that former Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė referred to Ruginienė as an “object” during an interview.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this Kremlin-backed right-wing party could not have chosen a lower level of rhetoric,” said Žemaitaitis.
In his speech, Žemaitaitis also spoke about the villa of former Conservative leader Gabrielius Landsbergis in Greece, discussed private schools, the “Moki veži” story, mentioned child molesters, recalled the words of Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, and other stories related to the Conservatives.
“My dear friends, it is because of you that we have this chaos today, because the five years of democracy you brought us have been endless,” Žemaitaitis addressed the Conservatives.
“I would like to congratulate everyone on Democracy Day, but not on the celebration of democracy because that celebration of democracy has been a dark period for Lithuania for four years. Good luck with ‘Moki veži’,” he concluded his speech, which was followed by applause from the ruling party.
After Žemaitaitis speech, which included just a few sentences about Ruginienė, Saulius Skvernelis, who chaired his last Seimas session, reacted sarcastically.
“Thank you for your strong arguments about the prime minister. In inviting Domas Griškevičius on behalf of the Democratic Party faction Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania), I would like to remind you of the agenda item – the Seimas resolution on the approval of the candidate for prime minister,” Skvernelis said ironically.
There will be no support from former partners
Domas Griškevičius, a representative of the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos, praised Ruginienė as Minister of Social Security and Labour, but questioned her abilities as Prime Minister.
“During the meeting with faction members, we were not convinced by the candidate’s answers to the questions asked. There was no specificity or clarity, only words – we will meet, we will talk, and so on. We believe that the work of the prime minister and the preparation for it is much more than just words, and it is necessary to have clear proposals and visions. Unfortunately, we missed that,” said Griškevičius.
He also expressed concern about Ruginienė lack of authority within the Social Democratic Party, which could prevent her from assuming a leadership role.
“A lack of political experience is not irreparable, but one of the most responsible positions in the state, especially during an agitated period, is not a testing ground,” said the Democrat, somewhat hesitantly.
The Democrats are also wary of the risks identified by the State Security Department (VSD) regarding Ruginienė business connections.
“We haven’t gotten over the issue of the other prime minister’s business connections,” noted Griškevičius, referring to former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.
“Unfortunately, Inga, you will not receive support today,” he warned.
The former prime minister’s message to the new Prime Minister
Before the vote, former Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė presented her arguments as to why she could not vote for Ruginienė candidacy.
“It’s an interesting pattern – the second coalition in this Seimas, the second government being formed, and the second rally on this occasion. No matter how you try to describe it—as some opposition plot, a coup, or whatever else—you know very well that this is not the case, and you feel uncomfortable about it. And that gives me hope,” said Šimonytė.
The former prime minister also drew attention to the disproportionate amount of discussion time devoted to the Conservatives, especially in Žemaitaitis speech.
“It is unfortunate that so much time was devoted to discussions that could have been used exclusively to present the advantages of your candidate, while some, especially the ‘coalition’s hard-to-avoid mistake’, to quote the classics, devoted their speeches to those who have long since left power.”
The conservative politician suggested that this might be because those in power have little to say about Ruginienė.
“It was said that we would hear a vision – we did not hear a vision,” Šimonytė said ironically. The candidate resorts to general phrases: the economy must be economical, energy must be energetic, culture must be cultured, and education must be enlightened. But I hope that this is only an appearance. The most unconvincing aspect is the attempt to distance oneself from the coalition’s political process. And no, hiding behind teamwork will not help. This is not teamwork. The prime minister’s responsibility in Lithuania is everything. As the candidate said, like it or not, that is the reality. Responsibility is everything. I hope that you will understand this sooner or later. Then perhaps it will be possible to vote “for.” But for now, it’s “against,” said Šimonytė.
Before the vote – the candidate’s speech
After all the factions had presented their positions, the candidate for prime minister, Ruginienė, took the floor. The politician thanked everyone who had supported her during this period, which, according to her, gave her even more determination.
Ruginienė also expressed her gratitude to the opposition, saying that she saw opportunities for cooperation, especially in the field of defence.
“The last three weeks have been quite tricky. Despite all the attempts to label and slander me and my family, I believe that we are all here today because we are pursuing a common goal and want to work for the benefit of the people of Lithuania.
My biggest dream is to stand before you again at the end of my term and say that together we have been able to accomplish very, very important work,” said Ruginienė.
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