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Jakilaitis explained why Sinkevičius cannot be compared to Brazauskas: we have a certain phenomenon
🇱🇹 Lithuania /Elections & Politics

Jakilaitis explained why Sinkevičius cannot be compared to Brazauskas: we have a certain phenomenon

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Interview Sources not specified Context piece
  • Journalist Edmund Jakilaitis explained why new Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius cannot be compared to the late President Algirdas Brazauskas.
  • Jakilaitis argued that a new generation of "political entrepreneurs" has entered Lithuanian politics, prioritizing personal gain over public service.
  • He cited Sinkevičius's past land deals as an example of this trend, contrasting it with Brazauskas's more service-oriented approach.

Journalist and public figure Edmund Jakilaitis has explained why the newly appointed Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius should not be equated with the revered former president, Algirdas Brazauskas. Speaking on the podcast "Kalbėkim paprastai," Jakilaitis asserted that Lithuania is currently experiencing a "phenomenon" in its political landscape: a generation of "political entrepreneurs" who enter public service not to serve the country, but to enrich themselves.

We have a generation of political entrepreneurs who enter politics not to serve, but to work and earn.

— Edmund JakilaitisExplaining the new political phenomenon in Lithuania.

Jakilaitis recalled his extensive experience interviewing Lithuanian prime ministers over the past three decades, noting that he spoke with all of them since Gediminas Vagnorius in 1997. He particularly remembered Algirdas Brazauskas, who he interviewed most frequently. Jakilaitis described Brazauskas as accessible and willing to engage in serious discussions, even when they were difficult, highlighting a mutual respect that characterized their interactions. This contrasts sharply with his assessment of the current political climate.

He came simply to make money. Politics was his form of business, his type of business.

— Edmund JakilaitisDescribing Gintautas Paluckas's entry into politics.

When asked about the comparison between Sinkevičius and Brazauskas, Jakilaitis firmly rejected the notion. He pointed to figures like Gintautas Paluckas as clear examples of politicians who entered politics as a "form of business" to "make money." Jakilaitis suggested that recent revelations about Sinkevičius's past land transactions, reported by LRT Investigations, further exemplify this trend of politicians using their positions for personal financial gain. He characterized such individuals as "legal thieves," implying a systemic issue within the current political establishment.

These things that journalists have recently uncovered, I think, the LRT Investigations department, about [M. Sinkevičius's] land deals, also show the same thing.

— Edmund JakilaitisConnecting recent revelations to the broader trend of self-enrichment in politics.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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