Parliamentary election in Lithuania: Social Democrats win

(dpa) The Baltic EU and NATO country Lithuania is facing a change of power. After a clear success for the opposition Social Democrats in the parliamentary elections, their party leader Vilija Blinkeviciute wants to form a center-left alliance. “We, the Social Democrats, have achieved a historic victory,” said Blinkeviciute on Monday.

According to preliminary results from the electoral commission in Vilnius, her party won a total of 52 of the 141 seats in parliament in both rounds of elections – 39 more than in the previous election four years ago.

Together with the Party for Lithuania (14 seats) and the Association of Farmers and Greens (8 seats), the Social Democrats want to replace the previous coalition of the ruling conservative Fatherland Union led by Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

Goal: three-way alliance as a center-left coalition

The planned three-party coalition would have a narrow majority in parliament, in which Nemunas’ newly founded populist party Dawn (20 seats) is also represented. In addition, several smaller parties and independent candidates also managed to get into the Seimas parliament.

A change of government would primarily lead to domestic and social policy changes in Lithuania, which borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow’s war ally Belarus. Many Lithuanians are concerned about the sharp rise in the cost of living. The Social Democrats made this their core issue in the election campaign – they want, among other things, to increase pensions and improve social benefits.

In terms of foreign and security policy, Lithuania is likely to remain firmly in line with the EU and NATO and maintain its resolute support for Ukraine. As many resources as needed must be made available for security and defense, said Blinkeviciute. Military spending should therefore continue to be above 3 percent of gross domestic product.

Lithuania is particularly exposed to the geopolitical confrontation with Russia due to its location on NATO’s eastern flank and also sees Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine as a direct threat to its own security.

Foreign Minister resigns as party leader

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wants to withdraw from politics for the time being after his conservative Fatherland Union’s defeat in the parliamentary elections. The 42-year-old announced on Monday in Vilnius that he was stepping down as party leader and would not fulfill his mandate in the newly elected parliament.

He also decided to take a break in his political career, said Landsbergis. “The signal from the voters is very clear both for the party and for me personally. It would be wrong not to hear it.”

The Fatherland Union suffered a clear defeat in the parliamentary elections in Lithuania and received 22 fewer mandates than in 2020. Landsbergis lost the runoff for a direct mandate in the second round, but would have secured a mandate via a party list. Landsbergis has been Lithuanian Foreign Minister since 2020 and has made a name for himself internationally as a committed representative of the interests of his home country and Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia.