Coalition talks stall as social democrats resist giving democrats four ministries

Negotiations for a new coalition government in Lithuania are ongoing, with all three potential partners—the Social Democratic Party, the Democrats, and the Farmers and Greens Union—meeting in parliament on Thursday, LRT reports.

The Democrats have pushed to lead four ministries, but both the Social Democrats and the Farmers and Greens Union appear opposed to the demand. The Social Democrats have already decided to dissolve last summer’s ruling majority, removing the “Nemuno aušra” party led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis. Disagreements among coalition partners have persisted since the 2024 parliamentary elections, when the first ruling majority was formed. This would mark the third ruling majority and government in just over a year and a half.

The Social Democrats have also begun consultations with the Democrats’ Union “For Lithuania,” led by Virginijus Sinkevičius, while aiming to retain their current coalition partners, the Farmers and Greens Union, led by Aurelijus Veryga.

Veryga stated that the Democrats’ demand for four ministries is illogical, though his party would willingly take on more than their current two if offered. “Our appetite is always big. The amount of food is limited, but the appetite is always there. We have two [ministries], and we’d gladly take more if given the chance. But we understand that desire isn’t everything—there are also possibilities,” he said. However, Veryga stressed that his party is not demanding more ministries and would prefer to retain their existing ones, adding: “Our position is that if a ministry is functioning well, with no issues, there’s no need for change.”

Regarding the Democrats’ proposals for the government program, Veryga described them as “not bad,” noting areas of agreement, such as eliminating the ceiling on child support payments. He downplayed other differences as technical, involving wording, formulations, or style. “For us, it might be simpler because many of our priorities were already included in the previous program,” he said.

Social Democratic leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius had previously urged the leaders of the Democrats and Farmers and Greens Union, both of whom serve in the European Parliament, to return to work in Lithuania. However, Veryga confirmed he has no plans to leave his European Parliament seat. Joking about speculation that he might return as health minister, he said: “We’ll have to sort it out with Vytenis Andriukaitis. I understand they’re inviting me to the Ministry of Health, but we’d need to figure out who would return, since there’s only one Ministry of Health.” He added that he sees no pressing crisis that would require him to physically return to a ministerial role.

Veryga expects financial matters to be the most contentious in the negotiations. “Naturally, there will be issues we’ll argue about, especially those related to money and the budget. That’s usually where the biggest, most heated discussions happen. For the Democrats, the debate over positions will likely be more intense. We’ve been invited to join the new majority under the status quo—there’s not much to argue about,” he said.

Sinkevičius made clear before the talks that four ministries for the Democrats is excessive. However, he indicated openness to negotiating the transfer of three ministries to them, expressing hope for a compromise.