It seems that political analysts' speculations about the future candidate of the conservatives may turn into reality, with the largest number of chapters naming Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė as their preferred candidate in the presidential elections and, despite low popularity, the Party's chairman, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
However, one unexpected name has emerged among the conservatives' expectations for the presidential elections.
Support for Šimonytė in Biržai
Members of the Biržai branch of the TS-LKD will nominate their candidate for the presidential elections next Saturday. Dalius Barkauskas, the chairman of the branch, told the news portal lrytas.lt that the party members have not yet had an official discussion, but there is a feeling of support for the candidacy of I.Šimonytė.
"We have had some informal discussions, and I myself am of the same opinion that the strongest candidate would be I.Šimonytė. But in this case, it should be her decision. In my personal opinion, she would be a stronger president than the incumbent," Barkauskas said.
Shortly after the Seimas elections, the conservatives will elect a new party chairman, and the current leader of the TS-LKD, G.Landsbergis, has announced that he will no longer run for the post.
According to Barkauskas, the people of Biržai will choose the new chairman according to the vision or line of the Party he or she presents.
"Personally, I am impressed with Kubilius, but the question is whether he would like to lead the Party. And from the younger ones, perhaps the name of L.Kasčiūnas would stick out", said the chairman of the Biržai branch.
However, although he could see Kasčiūnas leading the Conservative Party, Barkauskas said that he could not see Kasčiūnas in the position of President.
"Kasčiūnas is very much positioned in one area - namely national security issues. But the president should cover more areas. I could see him in the position of the Minister of National Defence but in the position of the President... It's hard to say," he assessed.
Sympathy for Landsbergis in Visaginas
Conservatives in Visaginas would also like to see Prime Minister Šimonytė run for the presidency again. It is true that the Party's chairman, G.Landsbergis, also has many sympathies among the Visaginas branch members.
"Of course, we would like to see Šimonytė, but there are also those in the chapter - including me - who would like to see Landsbergis. It's no secret that Šimonytė has a better chance, but in any case, I would suggest Landsbergis to my chapter," Laima Stanienė, the chair of the Visaginas chapter, told the lrytas.lt website.
She would like to see Landsberg continue to lead the Party.
"Personally, I would be in favour of Landsbergis. Look, when G.Paluckas was with the Social Democrats, he divided the Party. And there are different opinions in our Party, but Landsbergis always manages to keep the Party united in any case. I like that trait very much, so I would be in favour of him," said L.Stanienė.
However, since Landsbergis is not going to run for the Party's chairmanship again, Stanienė sees Monika Navickena, Minister of Social Security and Labour, I. Šimonytė, Prime Minister, and Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, Elder of the Conservative Group in the Seimas, as the new party leaders.
The Visaginas branch of the TS-LKD will decide on its candidate for the presidential elections on 31 August.
The Rokiškis branch would support a Christian Democrat
At the same time, members of the conservative Rokiškis branch think that the Minister of Social Security and Labour, M.Navickienė, could successfully run in the presidential elections.
"It's hard to guess, but our branch is more in the Christian Democratic direction, so someone from the Christian Democrats might be proposed, and a candidate from the people working in the current government might be proposed.
I hear that the chapter members would like to see the Minister of Social Security and Labour, M.Navickienė, in this election campaign.
We can nominate more than one candidate, so I think there will be more nominations. I think our chapter will nominate people belonging to the Party," Audronė Kaupienė, the chairwoman of the Rokiškis chapter, told lrytas.lt.
Kaupienė agreed that the representatives mentioned above of the Christian Democrat wing could be L. Kasčiūnas or Paulius Saudargas, while she said that Minister of National Defence A.Anušauskas could also be nominated from among the members of the Government.
However, the Rokiškis branch chair was a bit more sceptical about the role of Navickas as a possible party leader. According to Kaupienė, the conservatives of the Rokiškis branch would like to see the Party led by a person more in touch with the regions.
"Usually the members of our branch choose the person whom they see as more in touch with the regions. People in our branch are closer to a politician who is both visible in public but also has a connection - and not only with our branch. A leader who connects with the regions is our priority," she stressed.
An unexpected idea in Šalčininkai
The Šalčininkai branch of the Conservatives will also run a candidate in the presidential elections in mid-September.
Vidmantas Žilius, the chairman of the Šalčininkai branch, told lrytas.lt that some of the members of the branch would like the conservatives to support the candidacy of the current head of state, Gitanas Nausėda, in the upcoming presidential elections.
"There are various opinions: some think that Šimonytė should be nominated, others that the current president should be nominated," he revealed.
According to Žilius, before the last presidential elections, the Šalčininkai chapter nominated Šimonytė. It is the current Prime Minister that the Šalčininkai conservatives would most likely support in the future elections for the Party's President.
"One of the stronger candidates would be the Prime Minister", he believes.
Lazdijai supports the party chairman
Edmundas Nekraševičius, chairman of the Lazdijai branch of the TS-LKD, also assured that the branch members will only nominate a candidate from among the Party's members in the presidential elections.
"The same names are mentioned in the chapter - G.Landsbergis, I.Šimonytė, L.Kasčiūnas, M.Navickienė, and A.Anušauskas", he said.
According to Nekraševičius, the Lazdijai conservatives would most like to see the party chairman G.Landsbergis running for the presidency.
"I would say that I.Šimonytė still looks the strongest - or G.Landsbergis if he runs. We would vote for the chairman, although, of course, his popularity in the ratings is much lower than that of Ms Šimonytė", he noted.
Asked why he would run a candidate who has less chance of winning the elections, Nekraševičius replied simply: "Because he is the chairman of our party."
In Raseiniai - other worries
Meanwhile, the Raseiniai branch of the Conservatives is living its own rhythm for the time being.
Andrius Bautronis, the chairman of the Raseiniai branch, pointed out that the party members of the branch are not thinking about the presidential elections because they are preparing for the extraordinary election of a member of the Seimas in the single-mandate Raseiniai-Kėdainiai constituency on 3 September.
The early elections in the Raseiniai-Kėdainiai constituency were necessitated by the fact that Arvydas Nekrošius, a peasant elected to the Seimas here in 2020, won the mayoral elections in Raseiniai this year.
"It is too early for us to talk. We still have other things to worry about - the extraordinary elections to the Seimas are important for us. Our chapter now lives for the Seimas elections, not for the presidential elections," said A.Bautronis, the former mayor of Raseiniai, who is running for the vacant Seimas seat.
However, the politician does not rule out that the Raseiniai chapter could run a candidate from outside the country - not only a party member - in the presidential elections.
"It depends on the personalities themselves - maybe a non-party member will look less worthy than a party member, maybe a party member will look less worthy than a non-party member. It's very subjective," he noted.
From 14 August to 24 September, Conservative Party branch meetings will propose candidates that the TS-LKD could support in the presidential elections. The Presidium of the TS-LKD party will also have the right to propose candidates.
A primary election will be held on 11-12 November - the candidate with the most votes will win the Party's support in the May elections. The Party will support only one candidate.
Candidates can be members of the TS-LKD as well as non-party members. It is stressed that the Party's open primaries will be open to those who meet the relevant legal provisions and are of good repute.
TS-LKD leader G.Landsbergis does not rule out the possibility that the chapters may also put forward his candidacy, but he does not disclose whether he would agree to contest the election of the country's leader.
Author: Indrė Naureckaitė
