Lithuanian Social Democrats not in active coalition talks with Democrats, leader says

The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) is not engaged in active negotiations with the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” over a potential coalition, though “minimal discussions” are taking place, party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius told reporters on Tuesday, LRT reports.

“For now, there is no active phase of negotiations—only minimal discussions are happening, which I can confirm,” Sinkevičius said in the Seimas. He added that the party’s council will meet this week, where he plans to present a full assessment of the current political landscape and possible coalition alternatives.

“There won’t be an immediate decision—it may take time to finalise, to think it through,” he said. “There is no clear procedural scenario where we deliberate and make a decision [on the coalition]. We could choose not to decide, postpone the question, or act in any way. The party is free, organic, and dynamic—we’ll see.”

Sinkevičius confirmed he had met with acting Democratic Union leader Virginijus Sinkevičius, describing the encounter as informal: “We had coffee, talked about life, leadership, our parties, his situation, my situation, and our parties’ situations.”

Within the LSDP, opinions on coalition composition remain divided, with no dominant stance, he noted. “It’s almost fifty-fifty. Some colleagues’ attitudes shifted after last week’s events involving the former Democratic leader [Saulius Skvernelis]—there was more enthusiasm for change before, but now it seems to have waned.”

“We’ll take the temperature on Thursday,” Sinkevičius added.

The Democratic Union has faced internal turmoil following Skvernelis’ departure from the party’s fraction last week. Skvernelis, a former prime minister, announced he would join the Seimas’ Mixed Group, citing his expulsion from the Democratic fraction as a “serious blow.”