For his part, Žemaitaitis says that the group almost unanimously decided to leave the right to comment on coalition affairs to the Chairman himself. Only Mrs Širinskienė did not vote on this issue.
„I guess I'll have something to think about at Christmas because I don't like what I see. I will certainly never be on the side of chaos again, and I also have my responsibility for the majority,“ said Mrs Širinskienė.
„I will certainly see what the situation I see now looks like,“ she added.
The MP even teared up when asked who still keeps her in the Nemuno Aušra group.
„I always believe that common sense comes from somewhere when you rest, so I hope that maybe after Christmas, some star will shine, and we will start living in the same universe,“ she hoped.
„I don't want to get personal – I would like to start the spring session with work, just as I would like to begin the intersessional period with real work, not just with the posts, so that the chaos I see will end.
I am uncomfortable, you know, with the explanations, neither for you nor for the coalition partners,“ Širinskienė struggled to find the words.
„It is unpleasant, but that is how it is“, she added.
Širinskienė said that Žemaitaitis had forbidden her to comment on the coalition's and the group's internal affairs.
„As I understood it, I am forbidden to speak. (...) I'm beginning to misunderstand what's going on in our group, what are the reasons for these actions, what do we communicate, what information do we sometimes receive?“ said Širinskienė.
Before the elections, the MP herself had received offers to join other political forces, such as the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos (In the Name of Lithuania).
When asked whether she does not regret her decision to join Žemaitaitis in particular, Širinskienė said that she does not want to look into the past.
„Let's think that maybe after Christmas, something will change“, she said.
She wished her group colleagues to meet with their coalition partners and talk to them directly: „I hope, and I have seen, that some of my colleagues have understood this.“
What will Žemaitaitis do?
Žemaitaitis, the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra, did not hide the fact that in the group he had proposed and the group had decided that from now on, only he would be able to comment to the media on issues related to the coalition. The only one who opposed this decision was Širinskienė, who did not take part in the vote.
„The group took a decision – 19 in favour of Žemaitaitis commenting. Agnė did not take part in the vote. What does it mean not to allow? I am a very big Democrat; this is a group decision. If the group decides this, 19 out of 20 votes, is this an authoritarian regime? You are wrong somehow,“ Žemaitaitis argued.
According to him, a few days ago, it had been agreed that the right to comment would be reserved for him alone. However, the information still came out from within the group to the media that there had been no vote in the group on the decision to consider withdrawing from the coalition, according to Žemaitaitis himself. Širinskienė commented on this publicly.
„Nobody wants to (comment) because they are well aware that there is discipline and order, and the party Chairman, the elder of the group, comments on these things. Just like the President comments, or one of his advisers, just like the Prime Minister comments, not five or seven people. This is the consensus“, Žemaitaitis said.
Noting that Širinskienė had announced that she would not remain silent and would continue to express her opinion openly, the leader of Nemuno Aušra replied that she could do so.
„That is very good; Mrs Agnė can speak boldly. The team took this decision, and Agnė took another decision,“ Žemaitaitis said.
As for the fact that Agnes Širinskienė will continue to comment, Žemaitaitis said he would not expel her from the party. He also does not think that she will leave on her own.
„Širinskienė is an earnest and stable politician; she knows her responsibilities, where she is going, and how much work she has contributed, so I see her as an earnest politician,“ Žemaitaitis emphasised.
The politician himself admitted that there are different opinions within the group on how to proceed with the work in the coalition, so he was asked how one comment would reflect the different points of view within the group.
„If somebody has questions, opinions, assessments on one thing or another, I will certainly make it heard, „ he said.
