Lithuanian opposition leader criticises ruling coalition for harming state ahead of EU presidency

Acting leader of the Democrats “For Lithuania” party Virginijus Sinkevičius has accused the current ruling coalition of inefficiency and damaging the country’s reputation as it prepares to take over the EU Council presidency, LRT reports.

Speaking on the ELTA Week programme, Sinkevičius urged the Social Democrats to clarify their political identity before discussing coalition realignments. “My sincere advice to my Social Democrat colleagues is to answer the question: who are they today? Are they still the centrist party that avoids culture wars and seeks societal consensus? Do they defend free speech and judicial independence? Can they boldly declare themselves pro-European, or do they align with the best friend of Viktor Orbán in Lithuania?” he said.

The opposition leader emphasised that the coalition’s dysfunction is undermining Lithuania’s standing as it approaches its EU presidency. “I don’t want to be caught between Mindaugas Sinkevičius and Remigijus Žemaitaitis, each blaming the other for harming the state or their parties. They should settle who is causing more damage. What pains me is that this ineffective coalition is harming the state and our country’s name ahead of the presidency,” he stated.

Sinkevičius ruled out any cooperation with the far-right “Nemuno Aušra” faction in government, calling such a scenario “a betrayal of principles.” He recalled that Democrats initially left the coalition over disagreements with the party’s unpredictable voting and populist tendencies. “Their priorities are unclear, their actions and votes are constantly surprising, and they seek every opportunity to provoke another culture war,” he said.

Addressing speculation about recent meetings with Social Democrat leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius, the opposition leader denied discussing coalition shifts. “No, there were no such talks. The Social Democrats must decide for themselves—I see no need to push artificially. If they want to change the coalition, they can do it today by dropping the LRT amendments and proving they care about free speech,” he added.

The comments follow ongoing tensions within the ruling coalition, including recent divisions over the Čapčiamiestis military training ground project and public disagreements between coalition partners.