Social democrats proposed 3–4 options for ministry distribution, says Kukuraitis

Lithuania’s Democratic Party “For Lithuania” will receive three ministries—Agriculture, Energy, and Health—under the new coalition agreement, confirmed on Monday, according to a report by LRT.

Linas Kukuraitis, the party’s vice chairman, revealed that social democrats presented 3–4 different proposals for dividing the ministries among coalition partners. He noted that the changing offers suggested internal disagreements within the social democrats over which ministries to allocate.

Initially, social democrats proposed that the Democrats take over the ministries held by the “Nemuno aušra” party—Energy, Agriculture, and Environment. However, the final agreement included Health instead of Environment, which Kukuraitis described as unexpected.

Negotiations were quick but tense, he said. The Democrats sought to include specific commitments in the coalition agreement, but the social democrats, forming the 21st government, resisted, preferring more abstract terms to avoid budgetary strain and political tension.

Discussions over parliamentary positions were simpler, Kukuraitis added. The Democrats secured four leading roles, including chairmanships of the Social Affairs and Labour Committee, the Energy and Economy Committee, and a deputy position in another committee.