Democratic Union has enough candidates for allocated ministries, says Sinkevičius

The Democratic Union “For Lithuania” has enough candidates to fill the ministries allocated to it in the renewed government, interim leader Virginijus Sinkevičius told LRT Radio on Tuesday, as reported by BNS.

Sinkevičius noted that ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, the party had already presented a shadow cabinet, with candidates for every ministry. However, he stressed that the current candidates for the agreed-upon ministries may differ from those announced in 2024.

He declined to name potential ministers until their appointments are coordinated with national leaders, citing the risk of damaging careers if plans change. “We will present the best and strongest possible candidates to the public,” he added.

According to BNS, following a social democrat initiative to restructure the ruling coalition, the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” is set to take over the ministries of Energy, Health, and Agriculture in the renewed government. This comes as the party replaces “Nemuno Aušra,” whose delegates currently lead the Agriculture and Environment ministries. Control of the latter will now shift to the social democrats.

Orinta Leiputė, the senior member of the social democrats’ parliamentary group, told LRT Radio that the party has several candidates for the position of Environment Minister but did not name them. She also did not comment on potential changes to other social democrat-appointed ministers in the new government.

Sinkevičius confirmed he would not lead any ministry and will continue working in the European Parliament. A decision on whether social democrat leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius will head the new coalition government is expected on Tuesday.

The social democrats, democrats, and “valstiečiai” are set to sign a new coalition agreement this week, which would secure 75 seats in the Seimas.