Poll names Nausėda, Sinkevičius and Grybauskaitė as most influential politicians

President Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius and former president Dalia Grybauskaitė are considered Lithuania’s most influential politicians, according to a poll published by news portal Delfi and reported by LRT on Monday.

In a combined ranking of public and elite opinion, Nausėda received 43.7% of the votes, Sinkevičius 33.6% and Grybauskaitė 32.6%.

The rest of the combined top 10 were former president Valdas Adamkus, former prime minister and conservative Ingrida Šimonytė, conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Vytautas Landsbergis, the first head of state after Lithuania restored its independence, Liberal Movement leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Nemunas Dawn party chairman Remigijus Žemaitaitis and Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.

In the poll of the elite, Sinkevičius ranked first with 598 votes, followed by Nausėda with 565. Kasčiūnas and Grybauskaitė each received 435 votes. Adamkus received 377, Šimonytė 349, Landsbergis 286, Budrys 232 and Čmilytė-Nielsen 221. Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas, a Social Democrat, completed the top 10 with 199 votes.

Among the general public, Nausėda ranked first, followed by Adamkus and Grybauskaitė. Šimonytė, Čmilytė-Nielsen, Žemaitaitis, Sinkevičius, Kasčiūnas, Landsbergis and Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis rounded out the top 10.

Research company Spinter Tyrimai surveyed 1,017 people aged 18 to 75 across Lithuania from July 18 to 25. Delfi has compiled its ranking of Lithuania’s most influential people for 12 consecutive years.