Conservatives rule out cooperation with Nemuno Aušra in opposition

The leader of Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, has firmly ruled out any cooperation with the far-right Nemuno Aušra (Dawn on the Nemunas) party in parliament, following the Social Democrats’ decision to expel the group from the ruling coalition, LRT reports.

“I see no joint work with them. None at all. I do see cooperation in opposition with the Liberal Movement, but not with Nemuno Aušra,” Kasčiūnas told reporters on Monday. “Any kind of separate formats, alliances, or coalitions with Nemuno Aušra—we have no such plans. I can promise that.”

The statement comes as the party’s four lawmakers prepare to move to the opposition benches after the Social Democrats terminated their coalition agreement. Meanwhile, an opposition-led proposal to launch a parliamentary investigation into a data breach at the Centre of Registers—signed by four Nemuno Aušra MPs—will be tabled on Tuesday. Kasčiūnas said he was unsure whether the entire faction would support the motion in the vote.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, called the Social Democrats’ decision to cut ties with Nemuno Aušra “correct, though overdue.” She added, however, that her party would continue to back the government on critical security issues. “We don’t know what the government will look like, who the ministers will be. There are too many unknowns,” she said, noting this would be Lithuania’s third government in just 17 months—a record for instability under the Social Democrats’ leadership.