Social democrats reject democrat party’s request for four ministries

Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) leaders have rejected a request from the Democrats “For Lithuania” party to lead four ministries in a potential coalition government, stating their proposal is limited to two, LRT reports.

During Wednesday’s coalition talks, the Democrats “For Lithuania” expressed their ambition to head four ministries. However, LSDP deputy chair Rasa Budbergytė dismissed the idea, citing proportional representation as a key constraint.

“In negotiations, their expectations are to receive more than they are entitled to, while ours are to give less. But there are proportions and quotas that we must respect. They think they can have four ministers, but we believe two and a half, or at best two, would be more appropriate,” Budbergytė told ELTA.

Orinta Leiputė, senior member of the LSDP’s Seimas faction, confirmed that the party’s primary offer to the Democrats “For Lithuania” is control over two ministries previously managed by the now-departed “Nemuno Aušra” party. She noted that while ambitions may be expressed, the reality is constrained by the parties’ respective sizes in the Seimas.

“Ambitions can always be expressed. We are not inclined to increase anything. The reference point is what ‘Nemuno Aušra’ managed. But we also understand that ‘Nemuno Aušra’ had 18 members, while the Democrats have 13, and that’s a significant difference when organising work in the Seimas,” Leiputė said.

She reiterated that the main proposal remains two ministries, with discussions possibly extending to a third, but the official offer stands at two.

The first bilateral meeting between the social democrats and democrats took place in Vilnius on Wednesday. A day earlier, the leaders of all three parties involved—Mindaugas Sinkevičius, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and Aurelijus Veryga—held an informal discussion in Brussels.

The new coalition is being formed after the LSDP council decided last Saturday to change the ruling majority formed last summer, removing “Nemuno Aušra” and beginning consultations with the Democrats “For Lithuania”. Tensions in the current coalition grew after some ruling partners in the Seimas failed to support the establishment of the Kapčiamiestis military training ground.