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As Rima Urbonaitė, a political scientist at Mykolas Romeris University, told Mykolas Romeris University on Thursday in the “Open Talk” program, the friction between the highest authorities is programmed automatically due to the dualist executive power enshrined in the Constitution.
“But this does not mean that we have equal partners in power. When we look at it, it is a system in which some parties are nonetheless more powerful or more important than others and interact with each other and that interaction can cause that friction. Our president has certain powers and it is natural that I try to use them ”, said R. Urbonaitė in the program.
However, he pointed out that the powers of the head of the country are not unlimited, so power clashes depend on the personalities who hold certain positions at that time.
“Right now, we’re seeing everyone looking to increase or maintain some power. The president is probably doing more now even to maintain power than to increase it. Conservatives, meanwhile, today see an opportunity to increase those powers and are not very inclined to give up that opportunity. I think this is programmed due to our institutional structure. Because it is about politics, we will always have processes in which we will fight for a certain maximization of power, “said the MRU political scientist.
Taking advantage of the political game: in the hands of TS-LKD
Liutauras Ulevičius, a political commentator, also assisted R. Urbonaite. According to him, the levers of the political game are currently in the hands of TS-LKD.
“On the conservative side, it’s a natural, smart, professional, high-level political game: they line up individual issues on the table and push those issues forward little by little. Forcing the opponent, in other words, the president, to make concessions in one area or another. If the presidency cannot come up with a list of requirements on its part and has to start making concessions, naturally, the conservatives will win relatively, “said L. Ulevičius.
In his opinion, G. Nausėda himself began to mistrust the trust between the authorities, when he began to examine the conservative candidates for minister, and together with his advisers he would invite them “to the carpet.”
“The president did not have to participate in a battle, which he should not have been able to win,” stressed L. Ulevičius.
According to the reviewer, to show position and powers, the stick was bent in this situation.
“It just came to our notice then. Conservatives are too great a force to be carried away by emotions. The president is one person, for him, naturally, ambitions can sometimes cross a certain threshold, but conservatives play a game. very cold and calculated. They are playing a game that he is not losing yet, “said L. Ulevičius.
Liutauras Ulevičius
Grybauskaitė and Nausėda should not be compared in terms of representation in EVS
Speaking of the divergence of opinions between the ruler and the head of state on the representation of the state in the European Council (EVS), both experts affirmed that G. Nausėda’s situation is different from that of former head of state Dalia Grybauskaitė.
“The real situation is that Grybauskaitė came with all her luggage, she says. I was a minister, a European commissioner, I know the corridors and telling her why she can’t or shouldn’t go to EVS meetings would have been difficult. Let’s also bear in mind that the authority, and power is also based on authority, opinion in society, in the same political bubble, (…) his authority was strong enough. G. Nausėda does not have much of these arguments, “said R. Urbonaitė.
Meanwhile, L. Ulevičius also added that D. Grybauskaitė also had the support of the party’s conservatives, so the episode of EVT’s involvement was not so abrupt.
“As long as the president was strong, there was no question whether the prime minister could expect anything. When the current president has much less confidence in his support in society and in the political community, it is natural that the question arises about his even political legitimacy: how much power does he have to act, “said the observer.
R. Urbonaitė pointed out that the conflict situation can be harmful.
“If there is a conflict situation, hypothetically we can have quite risky situations due to the resulting information asymmetry. Reflection questions are worthwhile here ”, emphasized the political scientist.
Rhyme Urbonaitė
The president must have allies
According to R. Urbonaitė, the president often seems lonely in the political arena because he has no strong allies or supporters.
“The president doesn’t have enough support for that political bubble either; I would not say that the peasants would support it in any way, it does not seem very clear to me as a black and white option. “It is difficult for a president who does not have support, but only has ratings in public opinion polls, to balance it out,” said the political scientist.
L. Ulevičius spoke in a similar way. According to him, the dialogue between the peasants and G. Nausėda is now hampered by previous experience.
“Both the peasants and Nausėda have a memory of ambitions. Ambitions were embodied in this place when the peasants of the last period in the Seimas dictated what Nausėda had to do. Nausėda has a certain anger and that does not allow her to compromise or have a closer relationship with the current opposition ”, he emphasized.
According to both experts, to strengthen his voice, the president still needs to seek support in parliament.
As R. Urbonaitė pointed out, conservatives understand that in many cases they have influence in their hands.
“It just came to our knowledge then de jure the situation always goes in their direction, depending on who has what functions and powers are intended. Means for the president de facto affect the situation and de facto To weigh him a little by your side, you need to do a lot of extracurricular activities. And I should be talking about, (…) maximum cooperation with other parliamentary groups. I would not reject cooperation with the Freedom Party and the Liberal Movement itself, because those allies have to be sought, ”said R. Urbonaitė.
Meanwhile, L. Ulevičius pointed out that the leader of a country with greater power could seek by dividing the ruling majority or seeking allies.
“The president needs to go back to the classics and remember the principle of ‘divide and conquer.’ If you want to rule, and it seems to me that you want to rule a little bit, you must first remember that one of the ways you can fight the current coalition is to try to divide them. “The opportunities to look for gaps and gaps between two liberal and conservative parties are a power here,” said L. Ulevičius.
However, he noted that if the ruling majority was divided, there would be no alternative for the president.
“He has few and no alternatives left: the peasants, the workers and the Social Democrats. Each of them can support you with some ideas, for example, in socio-economic policy, but in real terms, you need to count the votes during decisive votes and those votes are key in the coalition. If it does not divide the coalition, it is enough to change the situation in the coalition, ”said L. Ulevičius.
According to R. Urbonaitė, the president may have to turn his head considerably on what issues to seek an agreement with the factions that belong to the ruling majority.
“The factions with which it is possible to design some cooperation are very far from the president himself. LGBT issues and those projects that could be discussed would mean that the president would be significantly overwhelmed by the very idea that it might be necessary to support these issues here, ”joked R. Urbonaitė.
Ingrida Šimonytė, Gitanas Nausėda
The cost of government friction: lack of constructive work?
Experts noted that the so-called “sharp corners” should pass as soon as possible, especially since the entire world is experiencing a pandemic.
“Obviously rubbing and smoothing the corners depends on whether the potential straighteners themselves want it. So far, there doesn’t seem to be a desire to avoid such conflicts as much as possible. In my opinion, they are pointless and useless in terms of handling the pandemic. ”Said R. Urbonaitė, a political scientist at the MRU.
L. Ulevičius also shared those thoughts.
“I would like this abrasion to be faster and focus more on constructive work, because now it is possible to sometimes lose the baseline that makes these branches of government work,” said the observer.
“There is a lack of teamwork for the benefit of Lithuania and here, unfortunately, I don’t see great prospects or positive changes so far,” added L. Ulevičius.
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