Šimonytė compares potential government reshuffle to “cold water shower”

Former Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė has criticised the Social Democratic Party’s handling of potential changes to the ruling coalition, comparing the sudden announcement to “a cold water shower,” public broadcaster LRT reports.

Speaking on LRT’s Dienos tema programme, Šimonytė described the Social Democrats’ communication as “chaotic,” particularly the signals sent by party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius. She suggested the proposed reshuffle stems from the party’s low approval ratings and coalition tensions but lacks clear justification.

“On one hand, it’s clear they want to fundamentally change the government and solve two problems—low ratings and coalition issues. But at the same time, they’re talking about the current prime minister, then blowing smoke,” Šimonytė said.

She argued that if Sinkevičius had decided on the changes as early as May 1, the abrupt announcement had caught many off guard. “I don’t think it would benefit the Social Democrats if a change happened without mutual understanding,” she added, questioning the logic of replacing a prime minister widely seen as competent.

The Social Democratic Party’s council voted over the weekend to terminate its coalition agreement with the Nemuno aušra party and invited the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” to join the ruling majority, which currently consists of the Social Democrats and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union.