Minister's wife's dual roles spark debate in Lithuania

Aistė Sinkevičienė, the wife of Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, has been appointed head of the Kaunas District Municipality's Public and International Relations Department without a public competition. This appointment, along with her concurrent part-time remote role at the "Raudondvaris Manor," an institution under the municipality, has drawn attention. Last year, Sinkevičienė's earnings exceeded 73,500 euros, with approximately a quarter of that sum coming from her work at the manor.

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I sympathize with all politicians' relatives: it seems they should go underground.

Questions have been raised about her involvement, particularly since the deputy director of the manor told journalists she had not heard of Sinkevičienė, despite her role as a public relations specialist. Furthermore, her contact information is not publicly available, making communication difficult and fueling speculation about the extent of her engagement in the institution's work processes.

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You know, as I said in one interview, now you have to be prepared to answer all sorts of questions related to your loved ones. And you can't do anything about it – that's the lot of politicians. If you choose public life, you have to come to terms with it.

Lithuanian politician Aurelijus Veryga, chairman of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, commented on the situation, suggesting that such scrutiny is a common experience for the relatives of politicians. He stated that problems would only arise if the employment were fictitious. "I sympathize with all politicians' relatives: it seems they should go underground," Veryga remarked, adding that if one chooses a public life, they must accept facing various questions related to their family members.

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In Lithuania, there are probably many people who, not receiving the desired salary from one job, work one and a half full-time equivalents or as much as allowed, and thus earn the salary they would like. I would see a problem if a person worked somewhere, say, not according to their competence or did not work at all.

Veryga argued that working in multiple positions or being employed in two places is not inherently wrong in Lithuania, where many people work more than a full-time equivalent to earn a desired income. He believes the issue would only arise if someone were not working according to their qualifications or not working at all. He suggested that for remote workers, direct supervisors are responsible for delegating tasks, and if those tasks are completed, the arrangement might be acceptable.

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You must agree that this is more of a manager-employee relationship issue. It is very difficult to comment on anything without knowing what functions she has been assigned and what she does there. Maybe she is really doing something, I don't know, designing remotely? After Covid, you will find a lot of people working remotely.