| The new government will be pragmatic Yesterday, the Lithuanian Seimas approved a center-left minority government led by Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas. The prime minister and 13 members of his cabinet took the oath of office in parliament and began performing their duties. The government crisis, which lasted more than two months, ended thanks to the new prime minister’s compromises and concessions to the opposition. The Social Democrats became the basis of the minority government - they hold the post of prime minister and the heads of six ministries out of 14. Kazimiera Prunskienė's Peasant Populist Party, which was part of the previous coalition, received three important ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The program of the new cabinet reflects the optimism of high economic growth ensured by five years of activity of the cabinet of Algirdas Brazauskas. By 2008, the goal is to bring the average salary, if calculated in euros, to 522, the minimum to 322, and the average pension to 174 euros. However, the new program no longer focuses on the issue of switching from the litas to the euro - in May the EU recommended that Vilnius not switch to the European currency in 2007, as previously planned, due to exceeding the maximum permissible level of inflation.
With the help of funds raised from the sale of shares in the Mazeikiu Nafta oil complex, in the next two years it is planned to completely close the issue of compensation for Soviet ruble deposits of the population and payments to owners of real estate in the hands of the state. The goal is also set for Lithuania to join the Schengen zone, which will require more extensive development of the eastern border.
In the foreign policy section of the program, the usual references to loyalty to the EU and NATO in pursuing a “balanced” policy between East and West have been preserved. At the same time, two items on relations with neighbors disappeared from the previous program. The thesis that the government, cooperating with EU institutions, stimulates the socio-economic development of the Kaliningrad region, the participation of the region and the whole of Russia in pan-European cooperation processes has disappeared. The focus on supporting Belarus in its quest for independence, democracy, and civil society has also been lost.
Apparently, the new government is based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of its neighbors. The new Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekūnas was previously ambassador to Minsk. Speaking at the Sejm, he said that he did not see any problems in the east. Lithuania will maintain its moral obligations to countries seeking European integration. According to him, Lithuania's policy must balance "between democratic values and pragmatic economic interests." Vladimir SKRIPOV, Vilnius |
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