Rejecting coalition with Conservatives ‘reason for President’s attacks’ – PM

“I think the main reason why the president [Dalia Grybauskaitė] did not like this government from the beginning of the term was the fact that we did not give in to pressure to form a governing coalition with the Conservatives,” said Butkevičius in an interview with political analyst Vytautas Bruveris in Lietuvos Rytas.

“The president‘s main objective is to weaken the position of all the ruling parties, especially the Social Democrats, so that after the next parliamentary elections there will be more of a chance of forming a conservative and liberal coalition,” he claimed.

However, Butkevičius said he doubted if the president was seeking to take down the government now even if opposition parties have been increasingly calling for the current ruling coalition to dissolve.

Butkevičius said his party had had enough of made-up accusations, saying “the cup of patience has overflown”.

“Some of our ministers have told me they had heard the president telling the heads of other states, for example the Estonian president, that the Lithuanian government is corrupt,” the prime minister said.

However, he also signaled that he would not seek to continue the ongoing row with the president.

Lrytas.lt