Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has appointed Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius as interim head of government following the resignation of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, Reuters reported.
Paluckas submitted his official resignation on the 4th of August, after announcing his resignation on the 31st of July. He was prompted by growing tensions over his company’s ties to his sister-in-law’s firm.
Nausėda’s official statement said he was appointing Sadzius as interim head of government until a new government is approved. Experts expect Paluckas’ Social Democratic Party, the largest parliamentary group with 52 of the 141 seats in the Seimas, to nominate the new Prime Minister. The next meeting of the Seimas, which could approve the new Prime Minister, is expected on the 10th of September, when MPs return to work after the summer break.
Since the Social Democrats do not have a majority in the Seimas,
the potential Prime Minister will have to seek support from coalition partners,
the center-left “For Lithuania” and the populist party “Nemunas Dawn”. These parties are often unable to find a common path.
Opposition parties have often criticized the outgoing Prime Minister Paluckas for transactions in which a company he partly owns sold electric batteries to a company owned by his sister-in-law, and the transactions involved state funding. Paluckas denies wrongdoing. Paluckas announced on the 31st of July that his past mistakes threaten the work of the government, which is why a quick and convincing decision to resign was made.
Paluckas’ sister-in-law’s company announced in July that it would return state funding, but denied any wrongdoing, saying that purchases from Paluckas’ company were made after an open tender.
“For Lithuania” threatened to leave the ruling coalition on the 30th of July if Paluckas did not step down, saying his position was unconvincing.
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