„I stress that the coalition is not collapsing; the Government is not. Let's stop creating a narrative that something is already falling apart, something is bad, etc. That does not exist“, Žemaitaitis told Žinių Radijas on Wednesday.
However, Žemaitaitis reiterates that the partners of the ruling majority are violating the coalition agreement by not supporting his candidacy for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Seimas. He emphasises that if the representatives of Nemuno Aušra had known that this would happen, the political force led by the MEP would probably not have joined the coalition.
„If we had known that they would not submit (the nomination – ELTA) and that we would not agree on these things, our signature on the coalition agreement would not even have been there,“ Žemaitaitis said, stressing that the Nemuno Aušra group had decided to nominate him for the position of vice-chairman, not another politician.
„How can you work with a coalition partner who does not respect the agreement?“ – he asked rhetorically.
Therefore, the politician continued that his name and the names of the other officials put forward to the Seimas should have been automatically submitted to the Seimas for a verdict.
„I kept my word. Did we vote for Saulius Skvernelis? We voted. If it weren't for Nemuno Aušra, Saulius Skvernelis would not be the Speaker of the Seimas. Algis Stončaitis would not be Chancellor today if it were not for the Nemuno Aušra,“ said the party leader.
If Žemaitaitis' candidacy is not submitted, the Nemuno Aušra promises to support the draft budget.
At the beginning of the week, as tensions rose in the ranks of the ruling coalition, there were speculations that Nemuno Aušra might block the adoption of the budget planned for Thursday if the nomination of Žemaitaitis was not presented to the Seimas at the same time.
The MP assures that Nemuno Aušra will vote in favour of the budget regardless of these circumstances.
„Even if my candidacy is not submitted, we will support the budget. We agree we are a sufficiently serious, orderly political force,“ he said.
ELTA recalls that the Coalition Council meets on Wednesday. During the meeting, the politicians intend to discuss the situation regarding the statements of Žemaitaitis about the possible withdrawal of Nemuno Aušra from the ruling majority.
On Monday, the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, Žemaitaitis, stated that he would question staying in the coalition if his candidacy for Vice-Chairman of the Seimas is not submitted shortly. On Tuesday, he admitted that such considerations are pretty serious.
However, coalition partners had previously said that the leader of Nemuno Aušra could only be nominated for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Seimas once his legal problems were resolved. However, Žemaitaitis believes that once his legal immunity has been lifted, there are no more obstacles to his running for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
Žemaitaitis is currently facing a criminal case at the Vilnius Regional Court, where he is accused of inciting hatred against Jews and publicly endorsing, denying or grossly disparaging international crimes.
