A few hours later, a similar decision was made at the Seimas Liberals’ meeting.
As Eugenijus Gentvilas, an elder of the Liberal Movement faction in the parliament, said, there was basically no discussion about the new name brought by the prime minister.
“We talked, many of us know Andrii Kubilias. Some more, some less. We talked about opportunities and state interests (…). Therefore, the faction made a decision to approve the candidacy”, E. Gentvilas told Elta.
“Laisvieai” also met on Tuesday to discuss the candidacy of A. Kubilias for European Commissioners, but did not make a decision. As Vytautas Mitalas, elder of the Freedom faction, told Eltai, the party he represents will announce the decision on Wednesday.
The opposition does not talk about supporting A. Kubilis: we counted how much damage he caused
On the other hand, no one in the ranks of the opposition speaks loudly about the support for A. Kubilius’ candidacy. Politicians cannot forget the times of A. Kubilius’s premiership, when, according to them, painful and costly decisions were made for Lithuania.
Therefore, the peasants’ leader Ramūnas Karbauskis claimed, his colleagues in the Seimas will definitely not support the candidacy for European commissioners submitted on Monday.
“The Conservatives have made it very clear that they don’t have any people to send to the EC. I hoped that they would at least try to find those who have a perspective,” R. Karbauskis told Elta.
“It is clear to everyone that the peasants would not vote for Kubilius, because we had calculated how many billions they lost during the financial crisis,” said R. Karbauskis, doubting whether A. Kubilius could expect an important portfolio even if sent to the European Commission.
“What fun it will be when we find out what portfolio he got.” This will be the funniest part, we’ll probably be belly laughing. There is no doubt about that, because there are no good portfolios there anymore,” the peasant quipped.
However, R. Karbauskis admitted, it is impossible to imagine a worse candidacy than G. Landsbergis.
“He’s a walking joke, and Kubilius is not a joke – he’s just a pensioner,” R. Karbauskis summed up the situation in his own way.
The politician assured me that the entire opposition will vote against the candidacy of A. Kubilius. According to him, it should not be assumed that A. Kubilius should not receive support from all those in power. R. Karbauskis thought that voting for the candidate presented by the conservatives would probably not be in the hands of the “liberals”.
“After all, they did not support Landsberg, because the conservatives do not vote for the partnership and for other solutions that the small factions really want. So if they change their mind now, I will be very surprised. I ask their voters: have you understood something?” said R. Karbauskis.
I will inquire whether A. Kubilii’s workload as a European Commissioner will be increased
On his part, the chairman of the “Vardan Lietuvos” Democratic Union Saulius Skvernelis says that his faction in the Seimas has not yet made a decision on how to vote for A. Kubilius. Although the parliamentarian responds positively to the political experience of the candidate for the EC, still, according to him, questions arise regarding A. Kubilias’s suitability for this position.
“We are very interested in the candidate’s approach to foreign policy issues, especially if he is trying to apply for the position of Development Commissioner or similar position. (…) Because the main guidelines of the EU’s foreign policy towards China are completely different from what Mr. Kubilius demonstrates as a member of the European Parliament”, S. Skvernelis said to Eltai.
“Also, it is clear that this will be a return to active politics from such a haven of peace. And the age is already there, the commissioner’s activity and work really require a lot of energy, a lot of movement, a lot of meetings, a lot of trips, a lot of visits. We will also ask how he feels about whether that burden will be lifted for him,” he added.
LSDP believes that it would not be right to support A. Kubilias
On Monday, the Social Democrats announced the decision not to support the candidacy of A. Kubilius. Although the chairman of the party, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, initially seemed to hint that she would support A. Kubilias’ transition to the position of European Commissioner, later the party released a statement that she did not find any reason for it.
“In the fraction, we discussed the period when Andrius Kubilius was the prime minister. We vividly remember the overnight tax reforms he initiated, various optimizations, even pension cuts. It is a painful story that a large part of society remembers as best it can. Therefore, our faction in the Seimas believes that supporting the candidacy of A. Kubilius in this case would be wrong,” said V. Blinkevičiūtė.
ELTA reminds that on Monday Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė presented to the coalition council the candidacy of MEP A. Kubilius for the European Commission (EC). According to her, this is the candidate for whom it was possible to find common ground with the president.
Minister of Foreign Affairs G. Landsbergis, who was previously discussed in the media and political corridors as a possible European Commissioner, told Elta last Friday that he had received information that President Gitanas Nausėda would not approve his candidacy.
A. Kubilius himself assures that he received the offer last week. The MEP says that he has agreed to take on the responsibility of becoming Lithuania’s representative in the European Commission (EC).
The nomination of the Eurocommissioner is submitted by the Government after the position has been agreed with the President and the Seimas.
2024-08-20 23:07:33