Linas Jegelevičius
For the first time, Lithuania’s all eight presidential candidates met in a live, national broadcaster LRT-televised debates, trading jabs while weighing in on foreign policy, tense geopolitics, war in Ukraine, Taiwan, Russia and Belarus.
“The fact itself that, in the otherwise boring presidential campaign, all the candidates finally met in a televised debate is positive. Especially that, behind the scenes, there were rumours that two of them, the incumbent president, Gitanas Nausėda, and the Prime Minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, will not participate in such debates at all,” Vytautas Bruveris, a well-known Lithuanian analyst and Director General of ELTA, a Lithuanian news agency, told BNN.
Already at the outset, lawyer Ignas Vėgėlė, whose candidacy is backed by the main opposition party, Lithuania’s Farmers and Greens (LVŽS), hit out at the incumbent president, Gitanas Nausėda, seeking his second term, and the ruling Liberal-Conservative Government for allegedly not being able to agree on the appointment of ambassadors to key foreign countries, like, Poland and the United Kingdom, for example. Reacting, G. Nausėda called on I. Vėgėlė to “verify the latest information”, meaning that the rival’s criticism was unbased. A quick fact check says, however, that the country’s Foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and the head-of-state have bickered over a year who and where should be appointed.
All the candidates were asked what the biggest challenge of Lithuanian foreign policy is
and how they would solve it, if they were elected to Office in Daukantas Square. Dainius Žalimas, the presidential candidate of the Freedom Party, lawyer, former Constitutional Court chair, spoke first, saying that support of the allies and releasing 260 billion euros, now frozen in the European Union (EU), for Ukraine, are essential.
Labor Party candidate Andrius Mazuronis said that the main challenge is the issue of China and Taiwan, which, according to him, costs Lithuanian economy considerable money. As a reminder, Lithuania’s relations with China soured after Lithuania in late 2021 allowed Taiwan to open Taiwanese Representation, not Taipei Mission like elsewhere, in Vilnius.
Nausėda emphasised that Lithuania must have as many friends as possible
and as few enemies as possible. “The enemies are known. Unfortunately, those states are not going to change too much anytime soon, and those enemies are close to us. However, our alliance with our friends, both in the EU and NATO format, allows us to guarantee security of the people of Lithuania”, said G. Nausėda. According to him, Lithuania’s voice is already being heard, and foreign partners recognize that “Lithuania plays a big role in shaping NATO and EU decisions”. The main goal of G. Nausėda is support for Ukraine.
Vėgėlė, who goes second in most presidential polls, yet behind Nausėda a whopping 30%, said that the main issue of foreign policy is security, but another very important element, according to him, is what he called Lithuania’s “experimental foreign policy”. He brought up the decision to allow Taiwan to open Taiwanese Representation.
The candidate of the ruling Homeland Union-LCD, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, said that the “main challenge in foreign policy and the main task is to try to avoid the erosion of the order based on international rules, and this includes everything, both our foreign and security policy.”
According to her, the main task that would stop the erosion is ensuring a victory of Ukraine.
The second is the strengthening of Lithuania itself, not only through allies, but also by giving up certain dependencies on hostile regimes.
Meanwhile, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the candidate of the “Nemunas Aušra” (Neman Dawn) party and a member of the Seimas, said that the weakening EU poses the main challenge for Lithuania’s foreign policy. He insisted that certain EU members are increasingly talking about a possible leave of the Union.
Žemaitaitis also named the expansion of NATO
as a challenge – whether Lithuania plans to support all countries that want to join the bloc. Also, a proposal in the Council of EU leaders to waive the right of veto. Another challenge, according to R. Žemaitaitis, stem from the increasingly frequent non-security, but economic priorities of the United States, Lithuania’s strategic partner.
Eduardas Vaitkus, physician by profession, said he is “convinced” that
the main problem of foreign policy is that “Lithuania is literally being led to war”.
“Our various government officials, past and present, are publicly declaring the need to engage in direct military conflict with Russia and defeat it on the battlefield. It is obvious to me that such announcements are the destruction of Lithuania”, said E. Vaitkus, whose electoral programme is often called extreme and hostile to Lithuania’s national interests.
After the debates, referring to E. Vaitkus, I. Šimonytė said that she sees a “Kremlin narrative” his reasonings.
Giedrimas Jeglinskas of the Democratic Union “Vardan Lietuvos” said that the changing balance of power in the world poses the biggest challenge for Lithuania’s foreign policy. According to him, there is a huge threat to the way of life of the democracies of the United States, the West, and all countries. “We have emerging powers that are trying to challenge,” the presidential candidate said.
Bruveris, says the divide between the Western and the pro-Russian outlook on the world order and foreign policies was evident in the debate “perhaps for the first time.”
“We have two candidates (E. Vaitkus and R. Žemaitaitis – L.J.) who resonate well with what the Kremlin has got to say on many issues,” he said.
Even I. Vėgėlė, who agrees that Russia is a threat to Lithuania, insisted that relations with such neighbours like Russia must be “very pragmatic in order to avoid any military conflict”. G. Jeglinskas emphasised that “chauvinist states should be treated in the same way as countries that have a hooligan mentality and only understand the power of the fist”.
Mazuronis said that he could hardly imagine any relations with Russia,
but speaking of Belarus, he stated that Lithuania, consciously or unconsciously, is “trying to mix God’s gift with scrambled eggs”. According to him, there should be two strategies on Belarus. One should related to the entrenched regime of A. Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, and the other on relations with the Belarusian community in exile in Vilnius.
“The question is whether we will make those people hostile to us or more or less positive,” A. Mazuronis said.
Vėgėlė also jabbed at G. Nausėda, stating that the push from China towards Taiwan was not a value policy at all, but a benefit policy for the incumbent president. He argued that “Teltonika”, a company that received a hefty Taiwanese funding, and its owner Arvydas Paukštys supported the presidential election campaign of G. Nausėda with almost 18 thousand euros. G. Nausėda did not deny, but asked his closest rival to “see where “Teltonika” works in and with which EU countries it has relations.”
“This is a global company that works with like-minded countries”, emphasised G. Nausėda.
Bruveris says he does not believe the debate could change the candidates’ current standing in polls or voters’ determination.
“Yet, for a part of our public, such debates were necessary,” V. Bruveris said.
According to him, the biggest intrigue of the election is if a runoff will be needed.
“No doubt, Gitanas Nausėda would like to get it all done in the first round, but, frankly, I cannot be sure if this happens already on the 12th of May,” ELTA director said.
Follow us on Facebook and X!