The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, winner of the October parliamentary elections in the Baltic country, reached a government agreement this Monday with Nemunas Dawn, a populist and nationalist formation with a leader accused of anti-Semitism. The pact for the government coalition includes the Union of Democrats for Lithuania, a center-left party that, like the Social Democrats, reiterated during the campaign that it would exclude from a hypothetical alliance the formation led by Remigijus Zemaitaitis, who has a pending trial and resigned to his seat a few months ago for allegedly anti-Semitic statements. , has harshly criticized the agreement and has threatened to block the appointment of Amanecer de Nemunas ministers.
Zemaitaitis, 42, founded Amanecer de Nemunas just a year ago, after his expulsion from a conservative party. The populist leader has published several comments on social networks since the beginning that have generated widespread rejection. In addition to accusing “the Jews” of “destroying Lithuania together with the Russians” during World War II, Zemaitaitis has even called for the death penalty against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The controversial politician, who, as agreed, will not be part of the future Executive, resigned as a deputy in April after being formally accused of “provoking hostility and intolerance against Jews” and “minimizing.”
The social democratic leader, and future prime minister if the agreement finally comes to fruition, Gintautas Paluckas, has attributed the criticism of the pact with Amanecer de Nemunas to the fact that some of Zemaitaitis’ statements have been “misinterpreted on social networks and by some media outlets.” communication”. Paluckas, 45, reported this Monday that over the weekend he had tried to calm the concerns of some allied countries and the Jewish community of Lithuania, with calls to “countless politicians and diplomats”, including members of the SPD. German. “There will not be a hint of anti-Semitism in the government coalition led by the Social Democrats,” Paluckas told public radio and television. Still, Michael Roth, an SPD deputy who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, has advocated expelling Lithuanian social democrats from the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament. Ben Cardin, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, has declared that the pact “undermines the fundamental values that unite both countries.”
President Nauseda has reacted to the announcement of the agreement by threatening to use his executive powers to block the appointment of Nemunas Dawn ministers. “A very serious mistake has been made,” declared the conservative politician, “a primitive anti-Semitism is taking root in our country.” The pact for the future government coalition grants three ministries, including Justice, to Amanecer de Nemunas. The president cannot torpedo the investiture of the head of government, but he can prevent the appointment of certain ministers.
Third parliamentary force
The Social Democratic Party was the most voted in the October parliamentary elections, with 19.3% of the votes. Dawn of Nemunas rose to third position by winning almost 15% of the votes, while the Union of Democrats for Lithuania will be the fourth force in the Seimas (Parliament) by adding 9.2% of the ballots. The three formations will count in the new Chamber, whose inaugural session will be this Thursday, with 86 of the 141 seats—well above the 71 necessary to govern. Paluckas plans to take over as prime minister next month. The Executive Commission of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania approved the pact on Saturday. Of its 105 members, 17 abstained and seven voted against.
The government agreement mainly addresses internal issues, such as reducing inequalities by increasing incomes, improving the quality of education, creating a better business environment for domestic and foreign investors, and improving customer service. sanitary. At the international level, the text reads: “We will fully support Ukraine in its quest for victory [en la guerra contra Rusia] and in the reconstruction of the country. “We will strengthen the transatlantic partnership.”
Virtually the entire Jewish community in Lithuania – some 200,000 people – was annihilated and buried in mass graves during the Nazi occupation.
