Prime minister designate’s cabinet reshuffle draws criticism

Lithuanian Prime Minister designate Mindaugas Sinkevičius has faced criticism from conservative MP Ingrida Šimonytė over his decision to replace ministers who, in her view, have been performing adequately.

Šimonytė, a member of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) faction, singled out acting Finance Minister Kristupas Vaitiekūnas, suggesting his competent approach to certain initiatives may have displeased the incoming government leader, who expects loyalty from his proposed candidates.

“I think the least we should do is replace ministers who are doing relatively well and, so to speak, understand why they joined the government. Then you have to resolve tensions that objectively exist. And here, it seems, these changes are explained by this very logic. While the replacement of Ms. Aleknavičienė with Mr. Alsys can be understood, the replacement of Minister Kondratavičius and the Finance Minister raises serious questions about why such changes are being made,” Šimonytė said on the ELTA Savaitė programme.

She emphasised that the outgoing ministers “understood what they were doing in their areas of responsibility” and are being replaced by newcomers to politics and even to the Social Democratic Party itself.

Šimonytė acknowledged that she does not believe Sinkevičius is selecting candidates based solely on party loyalty, as some nominees, such as Martynas Katelynas for Interior Minister, only recently joined the Social Democrats from the National Unity party. Taurimas Valys, proposed for Finance Minister, was previously unaffiliated before working with the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” and later becoming a Social Democrat nominee.

However, she warned of potential risks, particularly regarding the Finance Minister’s role, which must be capable of saying “no” to any prime minister, regardless of respect or authority, to ensure stable state finances and prevent a repeat of pre-financial crisis mismanagement.

The issue is especially pressing, she noted, as Lithuania faces a critical decision on defence funding in 2028. To maintain the current defence policy until 2030, 5% of GDP will be required, followed by at least 4% thereafter.

“The European Commission has provided the opportunity to stretch this out through borrowing. But what’s happening? The debt will grow very rapidly during this period. The debt has never grown as fast as it will until 2028. We can say it’s justified—defence and so on. Fine, but the question is: what comes next?” Šimonytė asked rhetorically.

She also questioned the meaning of “broad” or “innovative” financial perspectives, hinting at past instances of deficit concealment or overly optimistic economic forecasts that later proved unsustainable.

Šimonytė conceded that while Vaitiekūnas may not have offered clear short-term solutions, his understanding of various coalition or parliamentary initiatives that could challenge the budget was highly adequate.