Polish daily criticizes Prime Minister Butkevičius’ intention to dismiss Lithuania’s energy minister

According to the newspaper, Neverovič is regarded as the best minister in Butkevičius’ Government and is supported by President Dalia Grybauskaitė. However, unlike Neverovič, Renata Cytacka is an active member of the party and her re-appointment as a deputy minister is a matter of principle.

After the inauguration of President Grybauskaitė in July, the Government returned its powers and was reappointed anew. Prime Minister Butkevičius then said that Cytacka would not remain in the deputy minister’s post due to insufficient competence. However, according to the Polish daily, Butkevičius did not provide any facts to support his position.

Cytacka’s name started circulating in the Lithuanian media in early 2014, when the politician accused President Grybauskaitė of lying about the situation of the Polish-speaking minority in Lithuania, reports the daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

Cytacka claimed that she expressed her opinion as a private person and not as a public official. The Lithuanian public was also angered by the fact that the deputy minister did not hoist the Lithuanian flag during state holidays but instead raised the Polish flag on the national day of Poland.

The press office of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania party announced on Monday that “the Special Investigation Service favourably assessed Cytacka’s candidacy to the deputy minister’s position”.

The newspaper notes that the prime minister’s response will not be limited to the dismissal of Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič, but the question of the LLRA’s further participation in the Coalition will be raised in the nearest meeting of the Coalition council.

The Polish party responded to this by stating that “the Coalition operates consistently. None of the Coalition parties have broken the agreement and the LLRA is regarded as one of the most reliable partners. It always carries out its commitments to the coalition and votes as agreed”.