Olekas declines to blame Nausėda for missing Prunskienė farewell

Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said on Wednesday that he did not want to blame President Gitanas Nausėda for missing the public farewell ceremony for Kazimira Prunskienė, Lithuania’s first prime minister after the restoration of independence, LRT reports.

People are paying their respects to Prunskienė, who died last week, but Nausėda is absent because he is working remotely from Madeira this week.

“There are all kinds of situations in life. I also had plans for today and tomorrow, but I managed to change them. The president has other circumstances. I really would not want to blame him now, but I think the president appreciated K. Prunskienė,” Olekas told reporters after attending the farewell.

He said Nausėda had valued Prunskienė’s contribution to building a free democratic Lithuania and presenting the country to the world.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said on Tuesday that he saw no problem with the president working remotely from abroad. He said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the president’s choice and that remote work was possible both in Lithuania and outside the country.

Nausėda is scheduled to be in the Portuguese island of Madeira from August 3 to 10. The Presidential Palace said he would work remotely during that period and receive regular information about the most important events in Lithuania.

The president of Lithuania does not formally have annual leave, as it is not regulated by law.