Opposition: Social Democrats' Coalition Decision Correct but Delayed

Lithuanian opposition leaders have labeled the Social Democrats' decision to dissolve their coalition with the "Nemuno aušra" (Dawn of Nemunas) group as a necessary but overdue move. Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, and Mindaugas Lingė, a conservative MP, stated that the Social Democrats made a significant error by entering the coalition in the first place.

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The decision (to terminate the coalition with "aušriečiais") is correct, but very, very late. Obviously, the Social Democrats made a gross mistake twice by inviting "Nemuno aušra" into the coalition, now they have corrected it belatedly, but, well, it's still unclear about other mistakes they made.

"The decision is correct, but very, very late," Čmilytė-Nielsen told ELTA. She believes the Social Democrats have now corrected their mistake but suggests they may have other unaddressed issues. A primary concern for the opposition is the continued position of Inga Ruginienė as prime minister, which they argue should be the Social Democrats' next focus.

Lingė echoed these sentiments, characterizing the coalition's formation in late 2024 as a self-created problem. He criticized the Social Democrats for ignoring warnings from the public and media during the election campaign, leading to a year and a half of "constant scandals" and a "devaluation of political responsibility." He specifically pointed to the behavior of the "Nemuno aušra" leader as problematic.

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The problem that the Social Democrats created for themselves at the end of 2024 after the Seimas elections, they are now showing that they have resolved it. True, if they had not done this from the very beginning, when they were warned both by the public and general public opinion – what we saw during the election campaign – then there would have been no need to resolve it as a problem.

Both opposition figures suggested that replacing Ruginienė with the Social Democrats' party chairman, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, would be a logical next step. Lingė noted that while Sinkevičius has not been prominent in national politics, he possesses the potential to be a more decisive prime minister than Ruginienė. The opposition awaits further changes from the Social Democrats, emphasizing that the coalition issue was only part of the challenges facing the party.

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It is a matter of the Social Democrats' decision, but it would probably be a very natural and logical move. If the party has already decided on M. Sinkevičius as the permanent party chairman, then, naturally, it would not be just commenting on events coming from the municipality, but it would also be the implementation of certain responsibilities, the formation of a political agenda, and that responsibility would be realized in the highest position.