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M.Sinkevičius was elected acting chairman of the LSDP by the party council on Friday evening. He will lead the political force until a congress on May 29, during which the newly elected president will be confirmed.
M.Sinkevičius himself does not intend to participate in the election of the party president.
I would like the contest for the party president to be clean, transparent and with equal opportunities.
“I have expressed to the Council my own position and essential position that it would be very good that, during this short transition period, the interim leader is someone who does not have the ambition to run for the party presidency.” 15 minutes M.Sinkevičius, who is also the president of the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities, said on Saturday.
According to him, the interim leader of the party participating in the election would have an advantage over the competitors, because in any case, he handles more information, he has administrative resources.
“I would like the contest for the party president to be clean, transparent and with equal opportunities,” said the mayor of Jonava.
The Social Democrats approved the post of interim president after Gintautas Paluckas announced a week ago his resignation as party president after criticism from the parties for the poor results of the Seimas elections.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Gintautas Paluckas
The first round of elections for the permanent presidency of the LSDP will take place from April 22 to 25. The party president is elected for a two-year term.
Recognize the tension
M.Sinkevičius said that most of the time as acting head of the LSDP he would focus on internal party processes, although this may seem unusual in political activities.
He said that he wanted to restore the connection of the party leadership with the divisions, but as long as movement between municipalities is restricted in Lithuania due to the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom or another remote communication platform will have to be satisfied.
Photo of the event organizers / Mindaugas Sinkevičius
“It just came to our notice then. This is a goal for me, that when it is possible to go as guests, I would like to hold those meetings in the ten regions of Lithuania,” said the acting head of LSDP.
Paluck himself appointed MEP Vilija Blinkevičiūtė as interim leader and, according to observers, Ms Sinkevičius wanted to see LSDP seniors in this position, seeking the victory of another MEP Juozas Olekas in the election of the permanent president.
Photo by Luke April / 15 minutes / Gintautas Paluckas
M.Sinkevičius admitted that within the festival of “intrigue” there is: “It would be strange to say that we are now a monolith.”
However, he said he did not want to be associated with any of the party’s flanks, but was simply seeking a peaceful transition.
“As far as my possibilities allow, I will try to negotiate, put people at the table, speak, not make decisions that only ignite passions,” said the mayor of Jonava.
“I want to be seen as someone who unites our entire community, where we have colleagues both young and old. (…) In the life of a political party, I do not want to categorize that the young are the future and the elderly are the past ”, he added.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min photo / Juozas Olekas
“I think there has been such a pronounced division in our party long before. We can see for ourselves where it got us,” said M.Sinkevičius.
It will be necessary to find a fusion
Jūratė Novagrockienė, a political scientist at the General Jonas Žemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy, affirms that Mr. Sinkevičius is a visible successful politician in Lithuania, always close to the most important decisions of the LSDP, so he has the potential to seek points of contact between competitors . party flanks.
It is true that you have another explanation for why Miss Sinkevičius does not want to participate in the election of the permanent president.
“I think he feels very good in Jonava as mayor and president of the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities and therefore does not want to get involved in central politics, where there are many personalities, potential leaders with whom it is sometimes difficult to compromise. 15 minutes said the expert.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Jūratė Novagrockienė
According to her, tensions within the LSDP had been visible for some time, even before the Seimas elections, and the main opposition parties were supporters of G. Paluckas and the old guard of the party.
However, N. Novagrockienė doubted that this could threaten a more serious disintegration of the LSDP, because we have all seen the end of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Labor Party led by Gediminas Kirkilas.
He also said that the new leader of the LSDP will have to discover new accents in the party’s ideology, as it is now too sophisticated and perhaps not very attractive to Lithuania’s traditional left-wing voters.
“In general, it will be necessary to find a synthesis in that party, both for the different ideas in competition and for the different people in competition,” said the political scientist.
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