Lithuania parliament approves new prime minister and cabinet
Lithuanian parliament approved new government (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
On September 25, the Lithuanian parliament approved Inga Šimonytė as the country's prime minister and endorsed the program of the new government, as reported by LRT and Reuters.
It is noted that 80 parliamentarians voted in favor, 40 were against, and two abstained during the approval of the new government program.
It is expected that Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and the ministers appointed by President Gitanas Nausėda will soon be sworn in. Most of the ministers have changed, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will still be headed by Kęstutis Budrys, and the Ministry of Defense will still be headed by Dovilė Šakalienė.
What the new government promises
The new government promises to maintain a substantial level of investment in the country's defense and increase defense spending to 5% of the country's GDP. They also promise to keep most of the directions pursued by the previous cabinet, including assistance to Ukraine.
"My goal is that at the end of my term, people feel more secure, due to better defense but also due to better social care," said Ruginiene.
At the same time, the new Lithuanian government states that it wants to soften its policy toward China. In the new Lithuanian cabinet, they want to repair diplomatic relations with Russia's ally.
The newly formed Lithuanian cabinet has already faced criticism because it includes members of the right-wing populist party Dawn of Nemunas. The leader of this party is on trial for anti-Semitism and has also made offensive remarks toward Ukraine.
As a result, protests even broke out in Lithuania in September. However, President Nausėda promised that he would ensure that the leader of the far-right could not influence government policy.
Change of government in Lithuania: What is known
On August 26, the Seimas of Lithuania preliminarily approved the candidacy of Inga Šimonytė for the post of the new Prime Minister. She was supported by 78 deputies out of 141. The first visit of the newly elected Prime Minister will be to Ukraine.
The previous government of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned in July after a scandal erupted over the prime minister's alleged ties to a company owned by his relative. On July 31, Paluckas announced his resignation from the posts of Prime Minister and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party. On August 4, the president of the country accepted his resignation and appointed an acting head of government.
