„In Lithuania, an anti-Semitic political party led by former MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis would come third in the October Seimas elections, according to polls,“ the American Jewish Committee said on Wednesday on its social network „X“. „Even more disturbing is that the Social Democratic Party says it is open to a coalition government with Žemaitaitis,“ the post noted.
„If the mainstream parties are committed to the fundamental values of democracy and Europe, they must swear not to form a Government with this extremist party,“ the Committee adds.
ELTA recalls that Žemaitaitis's party Nemuno Aušra (Dawn of Nemunas) has recently been frequently mentioned as one of the likely members of a new ruling majority. Such talk was reinforced by Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, the Chair of the Social Democrats, considered to be the favourites in the Seimas elections, who mentioned that she would not rule out the possibility of forming a ruling coalition with Dawn of Nemunas.
However, later, Blinkevičiūtė clarified that it was too early to discuss possible coalitions – everything would be decided after the elections. However, the LSDP Chairperson identified one red line – she could not imagine working together with Conservatives.
The Social Democrat's statement on Dawn of Nemunas was publicly criticised, stressing that the party's leader, Žemaitaitis, had been found by the Constitutional Court to have broken his oath of office as a member of the Seimas and to have grossly violated the Constitution because of his anti-Semitic remarks.
In response to Blinkevičiūtė's statement, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the Speaker of the Seimas and leader of the Liberal Movement, said that she would not see her political force in a coalition with Dawn of Nemunas. In contrast, Conservative leader Gabrielius Landsbergis urged the parties on the centre-left and the centre-right to negotiate to prevent radical troops from coming to power after the autumn elections.
