“If you look at the polls, the gaps between the individual parties are small. It is not like in the presidential election, when there was a big enough gap between one candidate and the other candidates. In this case, we are talking about the fact that several parties can gather the most votes, form a governing coalition, and the candidacy of the prime minister is very difficult to define today,” G. Nausėda told “Žinių Radio” on Tuesday.
“It is not even completely clear which party will have the right or the opportunity to take the post of prime minister. Today, I would suggest not escalating this issue, although I fully understand that some parties do this deliberately, trying to highlight their advantages, (…) but this is definitely not an issue for today”, he assured.
G. Nausėda explained that the parties should focus on highlighting their programs, because what the ruling coalition will be at the end of October, no one can say at the moment.
“Let the parties, since there is not enough time left before the elections, highlight their programs, show the voters that they are as interesting or more visionary as possible than other parties, and maybe they will be elected, gather a majority, form a coalition that will reflect the mood of the Lithuanian population, and then they will be able to propose the candidacy of the prime minister “said the head of the country.
“But talking about a few names today is pointless, because today no one can say what the coalition will be at the end of October,” he noted.
Believes that the political center of gravity will shift to the left
The head of the country also said that he would like the continuity of foreign policy and a “socially empathetic” domestic policy from the parties claiming to be in power in the upcoming term. G. Nausėda said he hoped that after the elections the political center of gravity would shift to the left.
“We would like the parties to recognize the values that Lithuania’s foreign and domestic policy is guided by and has been based on for a long enough time. They should be pro-European, sincerely care about Lithuania’s security, advocate for the country’s strong position in relation to NATO and consistent supporters of Ukraine. The Seimas elections must not raise the slightest question about the continuity of our foreign policy,” said the president.
“In domestic politics, it is important for me that the parties are socially empathetic, they care about the regions, the interests of vulnerable groups in society, and want to reduce the gaps, both between regions and between groups of society (…). I believe that in the fall the political center of gravity will shift to the left and center, and it should be easier and simpler to implement these domestic policy principles than it is now,” he explained.
ELTA reminds that the former leader of the Social Democrats, Gintautas Paluckas, said in an interview to Elta that he is already preparing to take the helm of the Government if the party he represents wins the Seimas elections to be held in the fall. G. Paluckas assures that Lithuania will only be better off if the party leading in the ratings has two ready candidates for prime minister.
“I don’t think it will be worse if there are two social democrats who are ready to be prime ministers: Vilija and Paluckas. I think that it will not be worse for Lithuania. It’s worse when no one is ready, and then someone needs to fill a position, and then in the first hundred days to see what happens here”, G. Paluckas said in an interview with Elta, noting that the Social Democrats will have at least two politicians ready for the position of prime minister by autumn.
Despite the president’s hints that he would see Vilija Blinkevičiūtė as prime minister if the Social Democrats win the elections, the politician elected to the European Parliament (EP) for another term does not clearly show ambitions to become the head of the Government. Therefore, at the beginning of July, G. Nausėda also named social democrat G. Paluckas as a suitable candidate for the prime minister’s seat.
In the Seimas elections to be held in October, the LSDP list will be led by party chairwoman V. Blinkevičiūtė. G. Paluckas is number two in the list of the multi-mandate district.
2024-08-20 12:59:34