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On Thursday, the parties that make up the ruling coalition concluded negotiations on a coalition agreement and released their draft in the evening. You can read it here.
It is true that the agreement does not yet speak of the division of responsibilities and positions, so it is far from certain that the negotiations on the ruling coalition have been completed and all issues have been resolved. However, according to political scientists, the course of negotiations so far suggests that there will be no major conflicts between the parties in the division of posts.
Virgis Valentinavičius, Associate Professor at Mykolas Romeris University 15 minutes He said he is surprised that so much space has been given to value principles in the coalition agreement.
“Such a coalition agreement seems relatively new in the context of Lithuanian political traditions, as it focuses more on the value aspects and this is reflected even in the speech. It is the least bureaucratic document of all the coalition agreements. Similar I’ve seen. There are even more people talking than politicians, which is unexpected. Sounds cool, “he said.
Photo by Valdas Kopūstas / 15min / Virgis Valentinavičius
However, V. Valentinavičius has doubts about the extent to which that agreement will actually work.
“I immediately see the danger that such an edifying document raises expectations in many respects, in terms of transparency, political culture, and then the question arises of how you can meet those expectations and choose a high enough tone,” said the political scientist .
It sounds cool.
For the first time, an open commitment
V.Valentinavičius ensures that the obligations to be open to the media provided in this coalition agreement are new and unique.
“We will defend and strengthen the constitutional rights of the media to receive and disseminate information.” It is important for the quality of democracy to have strong and independent media that allow the collection and dissemination of information, and open as much information as possible. state property and not persecute journalists or degrade their reputation for criticizing the government, “he added.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15 minute photo / Ingrida Šimonytė
According to V. Valentineinavičius, such commitment was probably determined by the behavior of the current government and the desire of the future coalition to show that they will be different.
“The current rulers on this point have apologized for their approach to the media, which I think is a simple political deduction to show that we will be different. As long as the issue is hot, that is included and, yes, this is the first time that media relations are included in the coalition agreement, “he said.
On the other hand, V. Valentinavičius believes that such obligations may turn against rulers in the future, because they may be required to strictly adhere to established values.
“If something goes wrong, those commitments will be remembered. It may also be disciplinary action for coalition members,” the reviewer said.
Professor Lauras Bielinis, from Vytautas Magnus University, stated that the point about openness to involve rulers is based on reality.
“It seems to me that this is normal, because we live in the era of the information society and information flows, the influence of the media is significant. We need to work carefully on that and create especially transparent conditions, “he said.
Above all, L. Bielinis says that it lacks more specific points on education in the treaty, but says that he understands that the rulers probably left room to negotiate a national agreement.
“The principles that are set are too abstract. Maybe it’s normal, will things be more specific later on? So far, I do not see an axial principle in the field of education ”, said the political scientist.
The differences and conflicts are clear
In the opinion of V. Valentinavičius, the draft coalition agreement clearly shows the differences between the parties that form the ruling majority and clearly separates the issues with which there is disagreement.
A similar point was mentioned in the coalition agreement signed in 2016 between the Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union and the Social Democratic Party. At that time, the entire coalition agreement consisted of only twelve points; most of them referred to the division of positions and the principles of the operation of the coalition, not to specific jobs.
However, it was agreed not to agree on matters of value: writing personal names, establishing a definition of family, legalizing the association and protecting human life from the moment it begins.
LVŽS and LSDP coalition agreement
And now the spelling of personal names and issues of legalization of the association have remained among the points on which the coalition partners disagree.
In addition, the dismantling of public spaces, commercial fishing, the opening of data on legal entities, the Istanbul Convention, the advancement of the era of the Seimas candidacy and the approval of the Reproductive Health Law have emerged here.
V.Valentinavičius assured that this proves that the parties that make up the coalition are very different, and in each of them “dissenting votes” will probably appear.
“This coalition agreement is also an attempt to find a common denominator and prevent conflicts. An attempt to satisfy everyone,” he said.
According to L. Bielinis, the parties that formed the coalition quite rationally solved the problems on which they did not agree and acted wisely by dividing them into separate parts.
“But for the most part, we can clearly see that there are common priorities,” he said.
The requirements of the smaller coalition partners must be heard and recorded in writing.
The political scientist V. Valentinavičius stated that the coalition agreement very clearly established the aspirations of the Liberal Movement and the Freedom Party, so it cannot be said that the great partner of the coalition, the Union of the Fatherland, did not listen to them. nor did he listen to them.
Furthermore, the electoral program of the National Union was the most fluid and universal, the most open, and the binding ideological approach of the liberals, especially the Freedom Party, was narrower. Therefore, it is very easy to separate those points from where they come, but we will probably not be mistaken in believing that the dismantling of public spaces is the goal of the Patria Union ”, said V. Valentinavičius.
According to L. Bielinis, a professor at Vytautas Magnus University, it is probably no longer important which party included which element in the coalition agreement, because it is time to start looking at the coalition as a unit.
There are not many conservative inclusions to the conservative electoral program.
However, he acknowledged that the points of the programs of the small coalition partners were more prominent.
“There are not many conservative elements of the conservative electoral program. In my head, it is a sign of flexibility and such a wise approach. In this way, the coalition agreement remains a minimal sign of conflict,” he said.
Photo by Lukas April / 15 minutes / It was convenient for Dalia Grybauskaitė to become head of state during the economic crisis, as an economist, says political scientist Lauras Bielinis.
Bielinis praised the future government for not denying in the coalition agreement everything the current ruling majority has done and for ensuring some continuity.
“It just came to our attention then. And that means the goal is not to cross everything out and throw it out and do everything differently, but to keep working. This is very good, because we will not see substantial demolitions and reorganizations, which often start with the chaos and they end up with nothing, ”said L. Bielinis.
He assured that so far the formation of the governing coalition is advancing in a harmonious and correct manner. It is true that everything can remain when governors have to share seats next week and there may be politically dissatisfied politicians with high ambitions.
“The negotiation process has shown that perhaps in this coalition we will see a correct and cultural solution to conflicts. I hope. Here is my hope. And that there are differences between political forces is something positive, because the ruling majority will not be a machine dominated by an idea, but will become a space for discussion, where it will be necessary to find consensus on sufficiently different political forces, “said the professor of the VMU.
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