Parliament speaker praises current Seimas as ‘success for Lithuania’

“As a success for Lithuania,” he told reporters on Tuesday when asked to rate the parliament’s performance.

Tuesday marks two years since the first round of the last general election, in which the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) won the largest number of seats in the parliament.

Pranckietis said the current Seimas’ greatest achievement was that it addressed issues that had been not dealt with for years.

“Being independent from previous governments, the (LVŽS’s) large group (in the Seimas) has the right to tackle such problems as nepotism and governance of state-owned enterprises. We got these issues off the ground in a way that is very successful for Lithuania,” he said.

LVŽS leader Ramūnas Karbauskis also gave good marks to the current Seimas.

“As the ruling majority, we are delivering on our promises. We do make mistakes, but no one can accuse this ruling majority of not taking efforts to deliver on its promises within our possibilities. We do take all the decisions,” he said.

However, Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of the conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, the largest opposition group in the parliament, said the situation had been deteriorating under the current government.

“Things have been worsening,” Landsbergis told reporters. “What has started now is a chaos we couldn’t have imagined in our worst nightmares.”

“All of the so-called reforms — higher and secondary education, wages, the tax overhaul, you name it — are causing enormous confrontation in society,” he said.

The term of the current Seimas started on November 14, 2016.