„Shortly, we will raise the question – whether Nemuno aušra can continue to participate in the ruling coalition, whether it cannot participate in the ruling coalition and how the coalition partners are willing to abide by the coalition agreement,“ Žemaitaitis told journalists after the meeting of the coalition council.
„As you know, the two positions of Vice-Chairman of the Seimas belong to Nemuno Aušra. Agnė Širinskienė has been appointed to one of them, while the other one, according to our party's decision, is offered to me,“ he said.
Earlier, the coalition partners said that the leader of Nemuno Aušra could be nominated for the post once his legal problems are resolved. However, Žemaitaitis believes that lifting his legal immunity has removed the obstacles to his running for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
„From our point of view, the resolution of the legal problems was already completed the week before last, when I waived my immunity, which was the agreement. As you know, the position of the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas is nominated by the Speaker of the Seimas. It is his right to decide whether or not to nominate the Deputy Speaker today,“ the MP said.
„If the coalition decides a court decision is needed, we will investigate it. The next question is the purpose of being in the ruling coalition if the ruling coalition does not honour the agreement or commitments. There could be a court ruling after five years,“ he also discussed.
Žemaitaitis believes that he will raise the position of Deputy Speaker of the Seimas in the coalition this week or next.
„We, Nemuno Aušra, are abiding by the coalition agreement, and I think our partners must also abide by the coalition agreement,“ he stressed.
For his part, Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis reiterated that Žemaitaitis would be nominated for the position of Seimas Deputy Speaker once the „legal problems“ were resolved.
„I have said – when the legal problems are solved. And when they are resolved, we will see“, he said.
The politician also stressed that „legal problems are solved in the courts“.
ELTA recalls that, despite criticism from foreign partners, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, which is forming the ruling majority, signed a coalition agreement with the Nemuno aušra (Dawn of Nemunas) and the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania) led by the MP who broke his oath of office by making anti-Semitic remarks.
However, the participation of Žemaitaitis's party in the coalition has drawn international criticism from Poland, Germany and the USA. In response to the negative statements of foreign representatives, Žemaitaitis publicly addressed the representatives of NATO and EU countries in Lithuania, assuring them that his remarks, which were considered to be anti-Semitic, had been misinterpreted. He also added that he had publicly apologised to the Jewish community for his words.
In April, the Constitutional Court (KT) ruled that the then Member of the Seimas, Žemaitaitis, had violated his oath of office as a Member of the Seimas by making anti-Semitic statements and had grossly violated the Constitution.
