Lithuanian PM calls Social Democrats’ coalition council meeting over military base a ‘farce’

Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has dismissed the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party’s (LSDP) call for a coalition council meeting to discuss opposition to the Kapčiamiesčio military training ground as a “farce,” LRT reports.

Šimonytė, a member of the conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), accused the Social Democrats of avoiding responsibility for the coalition’s future by shifting blame onto junior partners. “This is a farce,” she told reporters in parliament. “They’ve discussed this a hundred times already. What will they discuss in the council now? Do they really not know why Nemuno Aušra [a coalition partner] didn’t vote for the base?”

The prime minister urged an end to what she called “treating people like fools,” arguing that the Social Democrats were drawing “red lines” to distance themselves from the decision. “They just want to push the responsibility onto others,” she said.

While Šimonytė acknowledged the coalition’s situation was “no longer funny,” she ruled out changes to the ruling majority. “If they’ve already agreed they can’t split, let them say so directly and stop pretending with these discussions and complaints,” she added.

The Kapčiamiesčio training ground project cleared its first parliamentary vote on Tuesday, with 102 MPs in favour, 10 against, and 5 abstentions. Opposition came from seven Nemuno Aušra members and three from the Farmers and Greens Union. The base, intended to accommodate a brigade-sized unit, is part of Lithuania’s military modernisation efforts amid growing conscript numbers and allied troop deployments.

Local communities near the proposed site in Lazdijai district have protested the decision, which also includes expanding an existing range in Tauragė into neighbouring Jurbarkas district. LSDP leader Vilija Blinkevičiutė announced the coalition council meeting after her party’s board convened on Wednesday.