Liberal leader questions coalition’s future after raids on ruling party offices

Lithuania’s opposition Liberal Movement leader Eugenijus Gentvilas has questioned whether recent raids on the offices of the ruling Nemuno Aušra party will finally push the governing coalition to act, LRT.lt reports.

Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) officers conducted searches on Thursday in the parliamentary offices of Nemuno Aušra chairman Remigijus Žemaitaitis and party member Daiva Petkevičienė. Authorities were also present at Žemaitaitis’s home.

Gentvilas, a vocal critic of the coalition’s junior partner, suggested the raids—reportedly linked to party financing—could test Žemaitaitis’s long-standing claims of political invulnerability. “I’ve said before that Žemaitaitis is the only one in this coalition who considers himself untouchable, a saint. Now we’ll see if he truly is,” Gentvilas told reporters.

He noted the irony of Žemaitaitis’s selective outrage on social media, where the Nemuno Aušra leader frequently condemns political opponents but has remained silent on high-profile corruption allegations involving the Agriculture Ministry. “Whenever there’s a scandal—whether it’s [former PM Saulius] Skvernelis or the conservatives—he’s quick to post his moral judgments. Yet on the Agriculture Ministry case? Not a word,” Gentvilas said.

While acknowledging that raids alone prove no wrongdoing, Gentvilas argued they undermine Žemaitaitis’s self-righteous stance. He also criticised the frequency of parliamentary raids this term, calling it “unprecedented” and damaging to public trust. “What must voters think when they see this happening again and again?”

Asked whether the searches could trigger changes in the coalition, Gentvilas expressed frustration with the Social Democrats, the senior partner: “I don’t know what more it will take. Do they need to be hit over the head eight times before admitting something’s wrong? The problem isn’t the raids—it’s their inability to make decisions.”