by Geoff Vasil

Following the ballot Sunday in the second round of voting for the Lithuanian parliament and thus a new Government it now looks almost certain former social democrat labor minister Vilija Blinkevičiūtė will replace conservative PM Ingrida Šimonytė. The pro-gay Freedom Party failed to win a single seat, the marginal and somewhat extremist National Unification party is also unrepresented and the current ruling coalition with the Conservative Party as the prime mover will now give way to a parliamentary coalition of the Social Democratic Party, the Union of Peasants and Greens and the party which splintered off from the latter, the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” under former PM Saulius Skvernelis.

The Conservative Party took second place in terms of number of seats but was in a tight race with the Nemuno Aušra party MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis formed in response to being castigated for numerous anti-Semitic and anti-Israel posts and statements he made over a year ago. The Conservative Party will like now form the official opposition with party leader Gabrielius Landsbergis stepping down from the party and resigning his seat in parliament the same day. The Liberal Union currently in coalition government is not announcing whether they seek to join the social Democrats in a new coalition but the sounds coming from liberal speaker of parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen indicate they will not join such a coalition.

Blinkevičiūtė, Skvernelis and Peasants/Greens leader Ramūnas Karbiauskis received an audience at the President’s Office Monday. As the head of state the president must approve any new ruling coalition and new cabinet of ministers.

Political commentators and members of the main winning parties in this election have said Remigijus Žemaitaitis and his Nemuno Aušra party will likely be a thorn in the side of parliament, a source of endless scandal, that it’s unlikely to consolidate into a serious political force and that they would be an unreliable partner for coalition, never mind the openly anti-Semitic and xenophobic statements emanating from Žemaitaitis. That party also has a problem with candidates and now MPs who have lied about their criminal records on election forms. Žemaitaitis said he would not join the Conservatives in official parliamentary opposition and would likely support the Social Democratic Party on a vote-by-vote basis in the legislature.

The information presented here does not reflect any position but that of the author and all mistakes are his.

Update: Vilija Blinkevičiūtė declined the post of prime minister citing age. Social democrat Gintautas Paluckas is now favored to become the next PM.