„I submit to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for consideration the candidacy of Ingrida Šimonytė for the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania,“ said Mr Nausėda.
The President gave no reasons or arguments, a presentation greeted by noisy reactions from the Seimas members.
„Dear colleagues, I invite you to concentrate – despite the laconic presentation,“ remarked Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas.
Like the President, the Prime Minister-designate said she did not intend to mince words. According to Šimonytė, during this term of office, parliamentarians have been able to assess whether the position of Prime Minister is suitable for her.
„It would probably be a bit comical for me to present myself as if I were running for this position at the end of 2020, after the Seimas elections, given that the regular elections of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania will take place in three months, and the nomination of a new Prime Minister is essentially related to the return of powers, as provided for by the Constitution, due to the swearing-in of the President. I will not dwell on this for very long. I would rather answer your questions,“ Šimonytė said from the rostrum.
„I have been in office for over three and a half years. I think you have already had the opportunity to have an opinion on how suitable or unsuitable I am for this position,“ she said.
Šimonytė reminded the parliamentarians that the regular Seimas elections are due in October. Therefore, the politician's main goal for the remaining term of the Cabinet of Ministers is to complete the Government's work.
„Now the main things that still need to be done before the end of the term of office are related to the practical implementation – both of the national education agreement (...) and of the strengthening of the financing of the national defence,“ the Prime Minister-designate said.
„In the field of energy, the essential work will be fully completed in February 2025, but the process has two phases, and one of them will take place shortly, namely the disconnection of Lithuania and the Baltic States from the Soviet BRELL system and the corresponding preparation to become part of the continental European grids as of 5 February,“ she noted.
„We plan to carry out and complete all this work. Therefore, I do not intend to present any big ambitions here“, Šimonytė added.
