2024-08-06 22:42:31
“First of all, I would like to thank the Prime Minister of the country for the trust, for the invitation to work during a really very difficult pandemic. When you understand how much senselessness is rampant in this world, you really have to thank her for those years, which are really very, very meaningful,” said A. Dulkys at the press conference held at the Ministry of Health (SAM) on Tuesday.
“But the pandemic and other crises are receding, we have come to the electoral tango. And tango, you know, is danced in twos, it is necessary that all the dancers get along very well there. I agree with the Prime Minister’s decisions, and in the name of the state’s interests, the public interest, it seems to me that the most important thing is that the Government team should be such that they can extend the remaining time with a more constructive step,” he added.
He says that he himself proposed a new ministerial candidate: I am glad that the president liked him
A. Dulkys also thanked the head of the country, Gitanas Nausėdas, especially for his support for the reform of the network of health care institutions.
“I am grateful that in the second year of his term he supported and signed absolutely all the health reform bills that we presented. Later, thank you for sticking to that line and never questioning it, all the while agitating for change. I am grateful that today, when the ministers are changing, we have a strong message that there will not be a single change in the content of the reforms, that the changes and reforms are being handed over to very reliable hands”, thanked A. Dulkys.
He was also happy that the candidate for the new heads of the Ministry of Defense, proposed by his own prime minister, was suitable for the president.
“I am grateful that the candidate recommended to my prime minister, Aurimas (Pečkauskas – ELTA), my colleague, my comrade, was also liked by the president of the country. Unknowingly, it becomes like a beautiful tradition, when the head of the country is looking for a replacement for me, he always finds it in the teams I have formed. This was also the case at the State Audit Office, when they chose a person from my team, as well as my deputy. I see it as a kind of work evaluation,” said the former minister.
For his part, A. Dulkys wished the new minister to remember that “politics is a game”.
“My wish for Aurim is backbone, strength, understanding that politics is a game. Even saying that we don’t play political games is also part of the political game,” said the former SAM chief.
He did not answer when he spoke with the Prime Minister about his fate in the Government
However, A. Dulkys did not answer exactly when he heard the news from Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė that he would have to leave the Cabinet of Ministers.
“I will not tell you this. (…) I am a premier team person, I am not an individualist, I am a team player. Of course, the team always has its own internal procedures, internal communication, which can be both verbal and written,” said the former minister.
“Let’s leave these things for history, as they say. I can only guarantee that everything that is happening here is our united action with the Prime Minister of the country,” he added.
He explained whether the fate in the post was determined by personalities
A. Dulkys also could not answer clearly, which ultimately led to I. Šimonytė deciding to replace him in the Cabinet of Ministers. According to the politician, in the last few months there has been no shortage of discussions in the public space regarding changes in the Government. But, he continued, the debate was abstract and devoid of any real facts.
“Every day, it started to become less and less clear who is changing what and why. Because no reform is being stopped, not a single ministerial order, not a single Government resolution, not a single law has been named that is said to be wrong, that it needs to be changed, that something needs to be done about it,” he said.
“In my opinion, that prolonged talking without facts, he started to create topics about personalities, about whims, about some even conspiracy theories. The news is already reaching me that maybe there is a revenge here because I hired the speaker Tomás Gailių. If we continue like this, I don’t know where we will go next”, emphasized A. Dulkys. Therefore, the former minister reiterated his support for I. Šimonytė’s decision to say goodbye to him.
“The prime minister’s correct chess move – after all, there is politics here, I am a politician and with my presence I have to help, not hinder smooth processes. So let’s leave those answers to political scientists. Maybe history will clarify some things later. I personally can’t comment on that, I don’t see the whole chessboard,” A. Dulkys taught.
The former head of the SAM did not engage in discussions about whether the president’s criticism and the decision of the head of the government were not related to personal tensions between him and the head of the country.
“I will not comment on any stories. Today, what I said, I just wanted to say that when we don’t talk about facts and get involved in something so abstract (sayings – ELTA), sometimes you start to feel like in Soviet Lithuania, where the Soviet policeman used to stop and hang you and people can’t understand why you hang on to him”, taught A. Dulkys.
Health care reform was a revolution, but at some point it eats its children
Leaving his position, A. Dulkys did not spare thanks to the entire medical community. According to him, doctors faced an extremely difficult period when they had to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and then to implement changes in health reform.
“I dare to think that these are real revolutionary changes in the last decade. Well, but history knows that at some stage a revolution eats its own children. I’m not worried about it, that price satisfies me because we have a very clear message that all changes will continue,” he repeated.
He also addressed criticism for the fact that the SAM leadership had poor contact with doctors. A. Dulkys noted that during his term of office he has visited all municipalities and the main health care institutions located in them. In addition, according to him, the ministry now has a wider relationship with doctors’ unions.
“Communities – if during the previous term the Ministry of Health had a collective branch agreement with the four largest medical organizations, we already have an agreement with the nine largest medical organizations for three consecutive years. I can give you facts, name and name – behind every statement I make are simply bare facts”, emphasized A. Dulkys.
ELTA reminds that President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree on the updated composition of the Government on Monday evening. The head of the country approved the candidacies of two new ministers – Kazios Starkevičius and Aurim Pečkauskas. The latter will still have to take an oath in the Seimas.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė presented the composition of the renewed Government to the President last Friday. The head of the government is changing two members of the cabinet – Minister of Agriculture Kęstutis Navickas and Minister of Health Arūnas Dulkis.
The Cabinet of Ministers is formed and reconfirmed after the Government has returned the powers to the newly elected sworn-in President.
As provided by law, ministers are appointed and dismissed by the head of the country on the recommendation of the prime minister.
2024-08-06 22:42:31