Nausėda will start pruning the list of Šimonytė: some are at risk and others are simply impossible to move

The list of candidates for ministers appointed by I. Šimonytė looks like this. After the meeting with the president, the candidate for prime minister highlighted that the candidacies have not yet been agreed with G. Nausėda:

Minister of the Environment – Simon Gentville (Liberal Movement);

Minister of Energy – Dainius Kreivys (Union of the Fatherland);

Finance Minister – Gintarė Skaistė (Union of the Fatherland);

Minister of National Defense – Arvydas Anušauskas (Union of the Fatherland);

Minister of Culture – Simonas Kairys (Liberal Movement);

Minister of Social Security and Labor – Monika Navickienė (Union of the Fatherland);

Minister of Transport – Kasparas Adomaitis (Freedom Party);

Health Minister – Arūnas Dulkys (Union of the Fatherland);

Minister of Education, Science and Sport – Jurgita Šiugždinienė (Union of the Fatherland);

Ministry of Justice – Evelina Dobrovolska (Freedom Party);

Minister of Economy and Innovation – Aušrinė Armonaitė (Freedom Party);

Minister of Foreign Affairs – Gabrielius Landsbergis (Union of the Fatherland);

Minister of the Interior – Agnė Bilotaitė (Union of the Fatherland).

Minister of Agriculture – remains unclear will be provided in the near future.

Usually the president rejects about two candidates.

The first thought that caught my eye on the list was the political scientist Kęstutis Girnis: that the Freedom Party was lucky and the Liberal Movement was unlucky.

“The Freedom Party has received two important positions: justice, which they are very concerned about, and economics and innovation, where it has appointed A. Armonaitė. These are two important positions. And the liberals had the Ministry of Culture, which is the least significant, and Simonas Gentvilas is a candidate (by the environment ministers), who can be rejected by the President ”, commented K. Girnius.

According to the political scientist, all the country’s leaders influenced the formation of the Government. Usually two candidates are rejected. Even Valdas Adamkus did that. The assumption of K. Girnius is that this time it may be the candidacies of S. Gentvilas and A. Dulkis.

The political scientist does not believe that the president opposes the candidacies of party chairmen G. Landsbergis and A. Armonaitė as ministers.

“I think that for G. Nausėda it would be very difficult to reject the candidacies of G. Landsbergis or A. Armonaitė, because it would greatly aggravate the relationship. The leaders of the two parties are supposedly inappropriate. So it would mean that the president almost rejected that coalition. I don’t think let him do that, “said K. Girnius.

In general, he welcomed the list of conservative ministers.

“RE. The curve has been talking mainly about energy for some time. Ms Navickienė has been a candidate for the post of Minister of Social Security and Labor since 2016. in a shady office. It’s a bit of a complaint that G. Skaistė I don’t have enough experience in financial matters, but I think the Prime Minister herself could “fix” this issue. J. Šiugždinienė is very knowledgeable about higher education institutions, and the reform of higher education institutions is very unsuccessful, such Maybe she can move it

And there is an interesting situation with Mr. Landsberg. In the past, it would have been very problematic if the party president had to be directly subordinate to I. Šimonyte, then the question would arise, who is really the party president? But in the post of foreign minister, he must better meet the demands of the president. There is no direct subordination to I. Šimonyte, which could cause problems, “commented K. Girnius.

At the same time, the political scientist pointed out that A. Dulkys, who is being nominated for the Ministers of Health, is not yet a great authority in society.

“He also doesn’t have much confidence in the president because he didn’t offer to be the state ombudsman for a second term. But in the West at least, this is seen as a value when people who are competent managers come and can catch up and learn the things they need quickly. Furthermore, they can rely on experienced ministry staff. If the president approves his candidacy, he will have to prove that he is fit, “said K. Girnius.

At the same time, he stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic is the first test for the new Government.

“If it were even worse to handle the COVID-19 crisis, then there would be doubts about the powers of the Government. I think I. Šimonytė really needs to think about A. Dulkis’s proposal, “said K. Girnius.

Attention was drawn to the age and sex of the candidates.

Professor Lauras Bielinis of Vytautas Magnus University (Vytautas Magnus University) gave at first glance the impression that this is a “very young government composition”.

“It just came to our attention then. Young government is energy, the desire to achieve something. This is also probably the most feminine government, and it was discussed at a press conference.

It is also noted that practically all the candidates presented by I. Šimonytė are not directly related to these ministries. That is, they do not have institutional memory, they have no experience of being in those institutions. This is probably a plus, because certain connections are formed very quickly, in the institution of dependency, which, when placed in a higher position, sometimes hinders decision-making, ”commented L. Bielinis.

The political scientist has not yet speculated which candidates may not please G. Nausėda.

“The candidates are very diverse. Virtually all, except A. Dulkis, represent political forces. It will be important that the president knows with the candidates many things that are related to the presidential interest in the implementation of the government’s policy, ”said L. Bielinis.

According to the political scientist, G. Landsbergis’ candidacy for Foreign Ministers is the biggest problem for the president of the TS-LKD himself, and not for G. Nausėda.

“GRAMO. Landsberg, who has become foreign minister, will inevitably withdraw from party affairs. In this way, leading the party will become very problematic for him. It can be taken over by someone else. Both he and the party they can have a lot of problems, “said L. Bielinis.

The political scientist welcomed the candidacy of A. Dulkis for Minister of Health.

‘A. Dustys is a very professional institution, well managed, responsible, willing, determined. He, being neither a doctor nor an expert in the matter as an administrator, could do what I. Šimonytė herself said. The problem in health care is not the qualifications of doctors, nor the problems of the functioning of medical institutions, but the failures of the system. They should be corrected not by a doctor, but by a person with solid administrative experience, ”said A. Bielinis.

I don’t think Landsberg’s candidacy will cause any problems

Commenting on the issues, another VMU professor, Mindaugas Jurkynas, noted that the list provided shows that the coalition partners were able to coordinate their positions. Some of the surnames were not unexpected. They are related to people who have already worked in the Seimas committees or ministries in those areas.

“There is less institutional experience elsewhere, but there is a clear commitment to electoral programs,” Jurkynas said.

At the same time, the political scientist pointed out that the gender balance is well maintained in the Cabinet of Ministers.

“At the same time, this is a non-exhaustive list, not only because there is no candidacy for the Minister of Agriculture, but also because G. Nausėda will still consider, speak and express his position. I think the president may have a different view on certain areas. “The president’s constitutional approach allows him to have a broader range of policy options in the areas of foreign affairs, national defense and justice,” said M. Jurkynas.

The political scientist does not believe that G. Nausėdas, who is a supporter of the Europe of nations, supports Poland, does not like the candidacy of G. Landsbergis for foreign ministers.

“First of all, the president supports Poland as an important partner on strategic infrastructure issues. The president may have a different opinion on other issues. (…) I don’t think that Mr. Landsberg’s approach to foreign policy in general should be very different from the president. (…)

Conservatives’ positions on foreign policy are perhaps tougher in some places, especially, as they say, on matters of value. But I think those questions of value are basically limited to the Russian question. (…) To what extent will they raise questions of values ​​not in the context of Russia, but, for example, in the contexts of sustainability of the principles of the rule of law of Taiwan, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Palestine, Poland and Hungary, we will see ” Jurkynas said.

Will nominate I. Šimonytė

On Thursday, President G. Nausėda will present I. Šimonytė’s candidacy for Prime Minister during the Seimas session.

In accordance with the Government Law, the Prime Minister is appointed and removed by the President of the Republic with the approval of the Seimas.

The ministers are appointed and removed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Prime Minister. When temporarily replacing the President of the Republic, the President of the Seimas cannot remove or appoint ministers without the consent of the Seimas.

If the President of the Republic refuses to appoint the proposed candidate as a minister, the Prime Minister will present another nomination of the minister within 10 days at the latest.

The Prime Minister, no later than 15 days after his appointment, will present to the Seimas the Government formed by him and approved by the President of the Republic and will submit his program for consideration. If the Seimas does not approve this program by reasoned resolution, the Prime Minister will present the new program for consideration no later than 15 days after the approval date. The ministries and other state institutions must provide the newly appointed ministers, upon request, with the necessary material for the preparation of the Government’s program and contribute to the preparation of the program.

The new Government is authorized to act when the Seimas, by a majority of the members present at the session, approves its program. When a budget bill is written, the government’s program is adjusted accordingly.