SocDems won’t be ‘easy and obedient’ coalition partners – Paluckas

According to Paluckas, even though Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis says that he is not planning to meet with him in the near future, the head of government will be invited to a coalition meeting.

“In fact, I can understand the prime minister’s frustration and tension, because the Social Democrats will no longer be such easy, accessible and obedient coalition partners who have no priorities of their own,” Paluckas, who is deputy mayor of Vilnius, told reporters on Tuesday.

“I understand that our goals or rhetoric will make the prime minister and the government work harder to deliver on the election promises, both ours and theirs, which may be somewhat frustrating. However, I believe we will sort out all these relations when we meet,” he said.

Skvernelis said on LRT Radio earlier in the day that he did not plan to meet with Paluckas in the near future and called on the new LSDP leader “to return to reality”.

Paluckas said, in turn, that he did intend to change the rhetoric, but stressed that a meeting between the leaders of the Farmers and Greens Union with their coalition partners was inevitable.

“Saulius Skvernelis is right. The rhetoric should be changed and we should invite Saulius Skvernelis to a coalition meeting, rather than going to him, because, after all, Saulius Skvernelis was appointed to his post by the coalition. Therefore, we will definitely change the rhetoric,” the new Social Democratic leader said.