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“The fate of Nemuno Aušra (Dawn of Nemunas) in the coalition has been decided; they will be removed – the coalition will not be able to endure for long this rhetoric and these things, which are damaging to Lithuania and its image”, – said the leader of the Peasants Ramūnas Karbauskis on January 24, reacting to the remarks of the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, about Ukraine.
Indrė Naureckaitė states lrytas.lt that the outrage of the coalition partners and the Presidency was aroused by Žemaitaitis’s statement that it is worth going to Ukraine “only to learn about bribe-taking, corruption, sale of arms, and sale of the state”.
Representatives of the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania) also mentioned that their patience was running out and that soon one of the coalition partners might decide to bang on the door, and called for Žemaitaitis‘ behaviour to be discussed in the Coalition Council.
However, it seems that the Social Democrats, the major coalition partners, do not feel any urgency to convene a meeting of the party leaders and have not yet planned a date.
At the same time, the Democrats, who have already received comments from their coalition partners about taking too much initiative on this issue, are not backing down from their stance and assure that if the rhetoric of Žemaitaitis does not change, the Democrats themselves will take the necessary action.
For their part, the Aušriečiai themselves say that they do not feel any anxiety about the decision of their coalition partners and that Žemaitaitis’ words were misunderstood.
Kukuraitis: it’s a matter of time before the party reacts
Linas Kukuraitis, the elder of the Democrats’ group Vardan Lietuvos, called Žemaitaitis’s statements unjustifiable and noted that the coalition partners were in no hurry to convene a meeting of the Coalition Council to discuss the issue of Žemaitaitis’s faith and that of Nemuno Aušra.
“Everybody says it should be discussed in the Coalition Council, but nobody takes that first step. We are waiting for an initiative from the big partners because we already have several initiatives to hold that coalition council. We don’t want to overshadow that leadership”, Kukuraitis told the news portal Lrytas.
According to him, the Democrats have already received remarks from the significant coalition partners about the initiative they have shown.
“So far, there is no sign of anyone writing, inviting and initiating, and since we have already received remarks about our leadership as the smallest partner, we are passing our initiative to our big brother,” the MP said.
Kukuraitis did not say whether the Coalition Council could discuss the issue of Nemuno Aušra’s removal but stressed that if this rhetoric continues, the Democrats themselves could take action to consider their future in the coalition.
“(The Coalition Council) will discuss the situation and what actions will be taken, whether this rhetoric is changing, and whether other decisions are being made.
Because if we continue in this direction, it’s only a matter of time before our party reacts as a group and not as individuals with opinions.
There will be a congress and a meeting of the board, so I think these issues will be discussed in one way or another,” Kukuraitis stressed.
According to the Democratic Group elder, the most important thing now is to see how the conversation between the coalition partners develops and finally hear a clear position from the Social Democrats.
“It seems to me that it is not very monolithic and that the colleagues in the Seimas react in one way, more subtly, and the party chair in another. In this case, it is essential that clear boundaries are set and that this is done in the format of the Coalition Council because all the leaders are there”, Kukuraitis argued.
Puchovičius: This is not what Žemaitaitis wanted to say
Robertas Puchovičius, one of the leaders of the Nemuno Aušra party, said that the group had nothing to worry about.
“We are certainly not overexcited. As coalition partners, we are doing our job; all the work is being done according to the agreement. As a party, we have nothing to worry about, and Mr Remigijus’ relations with Mr Skvernelis are not a coalition issue – they have to work it out,” Puchovičius told the Lrytas portal.
According to the member of Nemuno Aušra, all the further developing exchanges between Mr Skvernelis and Mr Žemaitaitis continue to take place on the same issue – the chair of the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
“They can’t agree and get angry sometimes. But as the other coalition partners – a smaller part of them – say that this is why work is standing still, I can say that no work is standing still. For our part, and as far as we communicate with the other coalition partners, they are all doing their jobs. Only a group of politicians say that they cannot work – I think the work does not depend on that”, he assured.
At the same time, according to Nemuno Aušra representative, the statement of Žemaitaitis about Ukraine, which caused outrage among the coalition partners, was misunderstood – Puchovičius assured that Žemaitaitis supports Ukraine and supports it in every way.
“That is not what Remigijus meant to say. He suggested corruption in Ukraine, which should be better supervised. This is not a message to the Ukrainian people and not to the current Ukrainian government – of course, there are corrupt politicians, and there is corruption.
But the whole world knows that there is corruption and that it needs to be controlled so that all the money that goes to Ukraine does go to the war, so that people, children, women and men who live in Ukraine and fight for freedom are protected,” Puchovičius argued.
Motuzas: we need to hear the position of Žemaitaitis
Remigijus Motuzas, the elder of the Social Democrats’ group in the Seimas, told the Lrytas portal that the Coalition Council would meet when Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis returns from his business trip. Skvernelis is currently visiting Poland.
According to the Social Democrat, it is difficult to say what decision the coalition partners might take regarding Žemaitaitis and Nemuno Aušra, as there are “many circumstances”.
“In addition to Žemaitaitis, there are other people in the coalition. We know that Agnė Širinskienė has moved to another group, but I have to work with others, some of whom I know more closely, and they have a certain professional competence. We should discuss whether one person can determine their group’s and coalition’s fate,” Motuzas questioned.
According to the Social Democrats’ elder, the first person to be heard in the Coalition Council will be Žemaitaitis himself.
“First of all, we have to hear what he has to say – what his motives are, in what context, whether this is his position, and what circumstances have led to this. There is no doubt that we will talk and discuss this because this is not only a question of Žemaitaitis’ reputation but also of the reputation of the whole coalition and, finally, of the Seimas,” he stressed.
Motuzas is also convinced that Žemaitaitis could change his rhetoric if he wanted to.
Having worked as a teacher, a person can change to some extent, depending on the circumstances.
On the other hand, I often doubt whether Žemaitaitis himself is convinced of what he says – perhaps we need to talk to him about why he uses such rhetoric. In previous mandates, the rhetoric was somewhat different. So, again, what objectives is Mr Žemaitaitis pursuing using such rhetoric? Perhaps that is what we should hear from him. He is quite an experienced politician who thinks and understands everything”, Motuzas believes.
At the same time, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, when asked on Monday when the Coalition Council would meet, replied that “on an as-needed basis – whenever it is necessary”.
Moreover, the Prime Minister assured that the statements of Žemaitaitis do not have negative impact.
“He said something, he said it sharply, he said it unnecessarily, he feels provoked by something, but there is no actual impact on his actions, the Government’s position and the coalition,” Paluckas assured.
At the same time, according to the Prime Minister, the Coalition Council will discuss politicians’ rhetorical choices and their appropriateness.
“We will talk about how we can speak more nicely, how we can speak more simply, and how not to be provoked by every proposal or statement; it is normal to talk about this. But most importantly, it has no tangible, real effect. Because I think that on national security issues and support to Ukraine, the coalition is really in agreement,” said Paluckas.
“I judge the impact of important statements by their impact. As long as Remigijus Žemaitaitis himself and Nemuno Aušra vote in favour of support for Ukraine, vote for the Government Programme, which includes unconditional support for Ukraine, I don’t see any problems”, he added.
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