The newcomers who finished the session are open: they told about the crash experienced at the Seimas and the usual rules of the game

Felt a culture shock

How Delphi said Vilija Targamadze, a member of the Social Democratic faction, who was surprised in parliament when she came to Seimas from the academic community.

“In the early days it was a culture shock for me, because I come from an academic environment where there is more talk, every opinion is justified, and it is not expressed emotionally and sometimes even chaotically. From the beginning, there was a mess, then I began to understand how things are happening here, but it is really difficult for a person from the academic environment sometimes to see such situations, ”said V. Targamadze.

He also acknowledged that he did not expect such a division between the ruler and the opposition.

“I would like to see that when it comes to voting for the decisions that Lithuania needs, the division between the ruler and the opposition should not be divided, but what is in the best interests of Lithuania and its people should be modeled in perspective,” he said a spokeswoman for the LSDP faction.

The parliamentarian also notices this fragmentation while working in the Education and Science Commission. It is true that V. Targamadze says that he has already understood the “rules of the game”, but he tries not to play behind the scenes.

“I don’t have a labyrinth that I can’t get out of – to understand, I understood more or less, but I still don’t use it, because it seems to me that people have to stop, think and reflect on their activities, commenting on them and projecting the Lithuanian perspective , “Member of the Seimas.

Morgana Danielė, a member of the Freedom Group, spoke similarly.

“It was a culture shock just when I started working, now I’m used to it. The main observations would be that working hours are very long. There is a lot of work and the idea that the members of the Seimas are on vacation is very wrong. “I’ve probably never worked so long and for so many hours in my life,” he said.

He also drew attention to the culture of communication in the Seimas.

“I come from a very intelligent background, I worked in a hospital, I studied at the university, so I lost such a low culture in the institutions and workplaces that I visited, like here,” admitted Ms. Danielė.

Ligita Girskienė, a member of the Lithuanian Green and Peasant Union (LVŽS) faction, was often surprised by the chaos that reigned in the parliamentary building.

“I am devastated by the prevailing chaos. I was very surprised. The workload did not surprise me, the working hours were already very long in my previous job, but I would like to point out: the pot seems to be boiling, boiling, but the result is not yet: we discussed many interesting and controversial topics, such as like association laws, various restrictions on alcohol, excise, tobacco, drugs, discussions seem to have taken place, but we don’t have an outcome, “said Delphi.

She criticized the current Government, which, according to her, does not have concrete solutions for the benefit of people that would affect daily human life.

“A lot of chaos, a lot of politicking and resistance,” said L. Girskienė.

He said that he had already understood the details of working as a member of the Seimas, but that sometimes wonderful things still come up.

“I can’t understand why, for example, there are very good changes in the legislation that would really improve people’s lives; sometimes, in principle, they are not overlooked, they cannot even be postponed. I myself have presented a series of laws that have not even passed the first stage of presentation. Questions arise as to whether that principle is necessary in this place, ”said a member of the LVŽS faction.

However, the Seimas member noted that she was familiar with the Statute of the Seimas, the parliament’s information working systems and was already preparing for the fall session.

“I have ideas for the fall session and will be actively working with voters during the summer as I am elected in Klaipeda as a sole member,” added L. Girskienė.

At the beginning of his work as a member of the Seimas, as he acknowledged, a member of the LSDP faction, Tomas Bičiūnas, was shocked.

“If you had asked me what impression, for example, after the first or second week of work, I would have told you with wide eyes that I did not understand where I was, because I seemed to want discipline in the Chamber – usually one language, another listening , and here there can be several things: both walks and everything else. They did not extend me “, admitted the parliamentarian.

However, according to him, now everyday life in parliament is no longer surprising.

“Now I can say that I seem to have quickly figured out how to communicate here and what can be done. I’m no longer surprised that something is wrong here. It seems to me that I don’t sit on a foreign sled, although it takes time for great leaders, ”said T. Bičiūnas.

He found what he had hoped for at the Seimas.

However, not all new members of the Seimas were surprised by the routine of working in parliament. According to Audrius Petrošius, a member of the Conservative faction, his impression remained good after the first full working session at the Seimas.

“On the rookie side, the fact that the expectations were right and that I perceived that job in a similar way to what I saw when I got here did not disappoint me. “I had several experiences, I touched on enough important issues, I made important decisions and there were some disagreements and differences of opinion. I had a very colorful political process in this session, of which I am satisfied,” said the parliamentarian.

When asked if, like some colleagues, the communication culture at the Seimas was also easily scandalized, A. Petrošius answered negatively.

“I just like to be happy that this culture is increasing a bit. This year, the Seimas has been renewed enough and, looking at the prism of culture, it seems to me that this is also being felt ”, he pointed out.

For his part, Ieva Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė, representative of the Labor Party faction, said that after the session “there is a feeling that nothing has changed.”

“It is not very important whether the Seimas passed or this one passed, because the behavior is, in principle, analogously the same,” declared I. Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė.

There was no culture shock at the Seimas.

“I am at Seimas for the first time as a member of Seimas, but I have worked at Seimas already at a high enough level, so I had to get to know that culture, so there was no culture shock, because I already knew what to expect.

I expected a younger Seimas with more women to bring a slightly different culture and improve that average level, but this is not due to narrow coalition interests, mostly partisan, “said a member of the Labor Party faction.

He was delighted to be able to present many of the party’s program ideas to his colleagues and discuss retirement benefits for teachers, VAT reductions for some companies, and waste management issues. In addition, a project on the graduation of children with disabilities has been adopted.

At the same time, I. Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė highlighted a project, the presentation of which was approved and, according to her, was especially disappointing.

“Yesterday was a very sad day for me, when the rulers approved the presentation of the draft Law on Sciences and Studies, which will reduce the number of students in Lithuania. “… The endorsement, which seeks to harmonize requirements for state-funded and non-state-funded places, will do great harm to higher education and education in general,” he said.

The former member of the Neringa City Council, the liberal Andrius Bagdonas, was not very astonished when he started working at the Seimas.

“The impressions are good, at the beginning of the legislature it was quite difficult to get used to, although I worked in the municipality for more than ten years, because the municipal regulations are slightly different from the statute of the Seimas and adoption stages, but everything went quite well in the spring session, “he said.

A. Bagdon estimated that nearly 1,000 people had to vote for various decisions. together.

“I am glad that I participated in many decisions myself, I voted. I also introduced three individual bills, then with 23 colleagues I also proposed an amendment and with my colleagues 14 other amendments to the bills. So, so quite intense, “said a representative of the Liberal Movement.

He was pleased to receive support for the projects because of the 1.2 percent. Granting of GPM only to the non-governmental sector or due to the lifting of prohibitions for excess alcohol. And the culture in the Seimas, according to him, is similar to that of self-government.

“Self-government is probably a reflection of the Seimas: there are insults and other unethical actions. This was not surprising, but sometimes it is a very unfortunate moment, because empty discussions and disputes about nothing take a long time, and others have to sit and watch. true “circus,” “added Bagdon.