President’s adviser: Cabinet might be approved without several ministers

“If ministerial candidatures that do not meet constitutional requirements for ministerial candidates are submitted to the president, the government might be approved without several ministers,” she told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Tuesday.

Under the Constitution, a new government must be approved no later than in 15 days following the appointment of the prime minister. President Dalia Grybauskaitė hopes the government formation to be finalized as early as this week before the end of parliament’s spring session.

According to Svetikaitė, the president’s main requirements for ministers and vice-ministers they appoint include transparency, honesty, decency and competence.

“These are requirements for not only ministers but also ministerial teams, especially vice-ministers of political and personal trust who help ministers to manage designated areas and have the mandate to make certain important decisions (…). If a person, due to their characteristics, capabilities, is not able to form a transparent and effective team, he or she should not be appointed minister,” Svetikaitė said.

On Monday, the president signed a decree on submitting Social Democrat Algirdas Butkevičius’ candidature for prime minister. Parliament is to vote on his appointment on Tuesday.

By Friday, all vice-ministers had stepped down voluntarily, except for Energy Vice-Minister Renata Cytacka of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, a Polish party which is part of the ruling coalition. Social Democratic Vice-Speaker of the Seimas Algirdas Sysas told the national television LRT on Monday that if Cytacka failed to resign by Tuesday night, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius would not submit the candidature of incumbent Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič, also representing the EAPL, to the president for re-appointment.

EAPL leader Valdemar Tomaševski still could not say on Tuesday morning whether Cytacka was going to resign.