Lithuania: coalition with populists under fire
Another major row has broken out in Vilnius in the process of forming a new government: contrary to previous statements, the Social Democrats have announced that they will form a coalition with the centre-left party Vardan Lietuvos and the populist party Nemuno Aušra (NA). NA's leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, was forced to give up his seat in the Seimas before the elections after making antisemitic statements. President Gitanas Nausėda has said he will reject any ministers put forward by NA.
An absurd lack of principles
Verslo žinios is shocked:
“The Social Democrats, who paved their way to power with lies and manipulation, have remained true to these 'values' when forming the coalition. ... And this despite their party leader Vilija Blinkevičiūtė having emphasised before the October elections that they would not form a coalition with Nemuno Aušra due to the antisemitic statements made by the party leader. ... Žemaitaitis' antisemitic statements were a violation of the constitution and a breach of his oath as a member of the Seimas. To avoid impeachment, which would have kept him out of parliament for at least a decade, he promptly resigned his seat and disappeared. Now this oath-breaker is being sworn in to parliament again. ... This is not a paradox, but an absurdity.”
The country's reputation is suffering
On LRT, Ieva Dirmaitė, a left-liberal city councillor in Vilnius, describes the populist Nemuno Aušra party's participation in government as a threat to Lithuania's good reputation:
“This could permanently undermine the positive image Lithuania has built up over the years as a Western nation of values. Leading politicians from the US, Germany and Poland are voicing concern on platform X and in international media about the composition of the Lithuanian coalition and the potential consequences for the country. The situation is serious - the new government's behaviour is damaging Lithuania's relations with its neighbours, international partners and allies. New stigmas threaten to catapult Lithuania back to a time when the country had to work hard to put the negative headlines behind it.”
Kyiv could lose a close ally
Ukrainska Pravda fears a change in Lithuanian foreign policy:
“The new government plans to restore relations with China, which were severed by Beijing after the Taiwanese 'embassy' opened in Vilnius. It is therefore possible that in its relations with Russia, the new government will adhere to the pan-European consensus instead of playing a pioneering role. It cannot be ruled out that Lithuania's voice on the international stage will be considerably weakened by such a coalition. And that would certainly not be good for Ukraine.”