Ruginienė's aide learned of PM candidacy from journalist

Inga Ruginienė's press secretary, I. A. Dobrovolskas, revealed that he first heard about her potential candidacy for prime minister from a journalist. Dobrovolskas explained that during a vacation, he received a call from journalist Benas Brunalas, who mentioned Ruginienė as a possible candidate for the premiership. Dobrovolskas admitted he was surprised, stating, "What are you talking about?" He emphasized that before Brunalas published his article, Ruginienė's name had not been publicly discussed in relation to the prime minister position. Dobrovolskas recounted that Brunalas wanted to contact Ruginienė directly, but he advised her not to answer the phone during her holiday. "I told her, don't pick up the phone, because you're on vacation, and let Benas go with his article, but we'll talk later about how to get out of this situation," Dobrovolskas said. He described the period last summer as filled with various rumors about who might replace then-Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas. Dobrovolskas noted that while there were discussions about several individuals, Ruginienė was not initially among the prominent candidates mentioned. The situation evolved rapidly, with Mindaugas Sinkevičius and Juozas Olekas also being considered before Eugenijus Sabutis's name emerged on the decisive day. Dobrovolskas characterized the uncertainty surrounding the nomination process as a "very common state of affairs."

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So it happened that both I and Inga Ruginienė were on vacation at the same time. She managed to get away quite well for the first couple of weeks, and I did too in the first week. I took two weeks off. But the fact is, from time to time you open your phone, even though you want to disconnect from the media and what it writes, but you don't succeed completely. And it was becoming apparent that Gintautas Paluckas... That there was a high probability that he would likely have to step down from the prime minister's post.