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According to Rima Urbonaitė, political scientist from Mykolas Romeris University, the attempt by the “peasants” to form a shadow cabinet of ministers and present it is a political action, a public relations campaign, but not an initiative that will bring real changes.
Photo by Lukas Balandus / 15min / Rima Urbonaitė
“Of course, it is very good to criticize in a constructive way, but it was possible to do so without forming a shadow government. Nothing would have changed since then. The shadow government has a greater meaning in the two-party system.” 15 minutes he commented, adding that other smaller opposition factions could also delegate individuals to criticize the government on certain issues.
The initiative is positive, but not very significant
Matas Baltrukevičius, an associate analyst at the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, basically agreed with this.
The shadow government should not be overestimated.
“I do not think that the shadow government should be overestimated. It works more and attracts attention in two-party systems when there is a very clear alternative, either one or the other,” he said, but noted that the decision of the “farmers Introducing a shady cabinet should still be welcome.
“The duty of the shadow cabinet is to be a watchdog, drawing attention to the ideas of the rulers, which, in their opinion, can be harmful to society, and at the same time stimulate discussion and offer their own solutions “said M. Baltrukevičius.
It is true that he recalled that the old shadow governments, even the conservatives, born after the 2012 Seimas elections, cannot boast of success.
Shouldn’t we expect more from the “peasants”?
“You can invite a minister to the faction and call it a meeting of the opposition faction with the minister, or you can call the minister and emphasize that this is a meeting of the shadow government.
There is, of course, a form of public relations here, but if the shadow government of the “peasants” is active, it will lead to more constructive discussions, it will have proposals, and that is fine, “said the analyst.
S. “The” peasants “of Skvernel no longer need?
The biggest surprise, he said, is that there is no former Prime Minister S. Skvernel among the “peasant” members of the government.
“It seemed like a very logical step. S. Skvernelis is the most popular face of the “peasants” and a man who can really find common ground with other opposition parties and unite them is easier than R. Karbauskis. It was also a clear party choice for the opposition leaders, “said Baltrukevičius.
He speculated why S. Skvernelis was left without a position: perhaps his relationship with R. Karbauskis was not carried out, perhaps the “peasant” magician decided that S. Skvernelis was no longer needed.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min / Matas Baltrukevičius
“S. Skvernelis and R. Karbauskis were united by a clear common interest. In 2016, S. Skvernelis needed R. Karbauskis and” peasants “, he felt that they were a political force with which he could achieve a good result in the elections. R.Karbauskis needed S.Svvernelis as a popular face, it was a mutually beneficial relationship.
<...> R. Karbauskis, it seems, now has the following calculations: given that the 2020 elections were not so successful, perhaps Saulius Skvernelis is not necessarily necessary ”, the analyst considered.
Since the 2020 elections were not that successful, perhaps Saulius Skvernelis is not necessarily necessary.
Maybe punished
When evaluating S. Skvernelis’s decision not to go to the shadow cabinet made up of “peasants”, R. Urbonaitė assumed that his position in this party is unclear, uncertain and that in the future the paths of politicians and “peasants” they may differ.
“Perhaps Saulius Skvernelis plans to finish his work after this Seimas period? If so, then this decision seems logical,” said the political scientist.
Or perhaps, he considered, S.Svvernelis was punished for not joining the ranks of the “peasants.”
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Saulius Skvernelis and Ramūnas Karbauskis
“Maybe not joining the party could have been accepted as a negative gesture? Perhaps to become a shadow prime minister, or a shadow minister, it was necessary to become a party member? I don’t know what that condition was or was not raised, “taught R. Urbonaitė.
In general, according to her, only those who passed the filter of the “peasant” magician entered the shadow cabinet.
Government – without the “people of S. Skvernelis”
Among them is not only S. Skvernelis, but also Linas Kukuraitis, the former Minister of Social Security and Labor, who was elected to the Seimas with “peasants”.
In the shadow cabinet, this place was entrusted to the Seimas member, Tomas Tomilin.
It seems that the ‘peasants’ themselves were not disappointed with Linas Kukuraitis, although Tomás Tomilinas has always been an active defender of her ideas and positions. I think that the activity of Tomás Tomilinas was the factor that made him choose this time ”, commented R. Urbonaitė.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Tomas Tomilinas and Linas Kukuraitis
However, M. Baltrukevičius noted that in the shadow cabinet of ministers there are no former advisers to Prime Minister Lukas Savickas elected to the Seimas with “peasants”, nor, similarly, former Government Chancellor Algirdas Stončaitis.
It shows that there is no “S.Svvernelis people” in the shadow government.
“We see that the absolute majority are verified people, loyal to R. Karbauskis,” said the analyst.
VIDEO: The shadow government of LVŽS meets at the first meeting
S. Skvernelis said he refused to be in the shadows
The Lithuanian Union of Greens and Peasants (LVŽS), which works in the opposition, presented the shadow cabinet to the Seimas on Thursday.
The cabinet will be headed by party leader R. Karbauskis, who left Seimas.
The position of the Minister of Finance is dedicated to Valius Ąžuolas, the Minister of the Interior – Guoda Burokiene, the Minister of National Defense – Dainius Gaižauskas, the Environment – Ligita Girskiene, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports – Eugenijus Jovaiša, the Agne Širinskienė, social security and work – Tomas Tomilinas, communications – Arvydas Vaitkas.
There are also three former royal ministers in the shadow government.
Aurelijus Veryga “retained” the post of Minister of Health, Kęstutis Mažeika became the shadow Minister of Agriculture, and Giedrius Surplys (who served as Minister of Agriculture from May 2018 to August 2019) was appointed head of the Ministry of Foreign Relations in the shade.
Former Prime Minister S.Svvernelis said he refused to be in the shadow government of the LVŽS because, according to him, it would have made more sense to form a coalition government of all the opposition factions.
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