The President of Lithuania announced that he would not approve candidates for ministerial positions from the Neman Dawn party. Remigijus Żemaitaitis's group is accused of anti-Semitism. According to Gitanas Nauseda, including this party in the new ruling coalition was a “mistake”.
– I won't support it, don't even try to nominate candidates – the president said about the politicians of the Świt Niemna party Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda in a conversation with journalists in reaction to the signing of the coalition agreement on Monday after the October parliamentary elections.
The coalition was formed by three parties: the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), Świt Niemen and the Democratic Union “In the Name of Lithuania”. It will have 86 seats in the 141-seat parliament.
However, the president did not rule out the possibility of “discussing the nomination of technocratic candidates”, i.e. non-party candidates, proposed by Żemaitaitis' party. He added: “I don't know which self-respecting person would like to identify with the leader of this party.”
Leader of Świt Niemen accused of anti-Semitism
Żemaitaitis, the leader of Świt Niemen – a party that was founded a year ago – is on trial for inciting hatred against Jews, as well as other actions that undermine the dignity of this ethnic group. The Constitutional Court of Lithuania found him guilty of violating the constitution and the parliamentary oath, as a result of which Żemaitaitis resigned.
The chairman of Świt Neman denies the accusations, claiming that he was critical in his posts on social media Israelnot the Jewish nation. He sent a letter to the countries' ambassadors NATO and the European Union in Lithuania, in which he argued that neither he nor the party he leads are anti-Semitic.
Social Democrats criticized for inviting Świt Niemen to join the coalition
The invitation of Świt Niemen to join the ruling coalition was criticized by foreign politicians, including: chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee USA Ben Cardin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German parliament, social democrat Michael Roth, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli parliament Juli Edelstein and deputy speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Michał Kamiński.
“I receive with concern the announcement of the entry of openly chauvinistic and anti-Semitic forces into the government of the Republic of Lithuania,” Kamiński wrote on November 9 on Facebook. “When Russia openly supports Israel's enemies, there can be no room for anti-Semitism,” he added.
The decision of the Social Democrats to invite Świt Niemen to the coalition is also criticized by politicians of the currently ruling center-right and Lithuanian civil society.
Activists announced that on Thursday, during the swearing-in of newly elected MPs, they would organize a “Ten minutes of silence” protest in front of the parliament. This will be an appeal to the Social Democrats, the Democratic Union “In the Name of Lithuania” and President Nauseda to change the coalition.
The protest participants emphasized that they intended to honor with a minute of silence the values that – in their opinion – the new ruling coalition is ready to destroy: political decency, Lithuania's international reputation and the memory of the Holocaust.
In the parliamentary elections, LSDP won 52 seats in the 141-seat Sejm, Świt Niemna – 20, and the Democratic Union “In the Name of Lithuania” – 14. According to the agreement, Świt Niemna is to take managerial positions in the ministries of agriculture, environment and justice.
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