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Delfi has received copies of correspondence from internal party members, in which the politician qualifies the proposal of some of the conservatives of the Seimas to hold a referendum on the Association project as a Russian political project.
The MEP herself does not deny having written to her colleagues, but assures that she did not speak about the Association Bill itself, but about the initiatives of the party’s colleagues that emerge from said draft: the declaration of thirteen members of the conservative faction of the Seimas to hold a referendum on the Public Limited Companies Law.
“I also wrote to the members of the party, and I can repeat the same to them, it was the initiative of the colleagues of the Seimas regarding said law to carry out a survey of the population. The politics of our party is not the politics of referenda. We also said it strictly at the meeting of the Party Presidium, which took place the night before the vote in the Seimas. This is the path chosen by the populists. And such an initiative repeats the narratives of Putin’s politics, and if anyone in Lithuania would benefit from it, it would be Karbauskis and his party, which we have already seen in such public statements, “said Delfi R. Juknevičienė.
Correspondence from R. Juknevičienė
© Personal archive
Among the signatories is the director of NSGK L. Kasčiūnas
Among the signatories of said declaration on the call of a referendum is the president of the Defense and National Security Committee of the Seimas (NSGC), the conservative Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
He was also signed by members of Seimas Paulius Saudargas, Audronius Ažubalis, Vilija Aleknaitė-Abramikienė, Justinas Urbanavičius, Antanas Čepononis, Kazys Starkevičius, Arvydas Pocius, Valdas Rakutis, Algis Strelčiūnas, Irena Haase, and Antaudanas Gonas Matulas.
“If the referendum takes place, the hatred will flow freely. The government may also resign. It’s scary and imagine that the Kremlin would definitely be happy. This is its theme and its purpose (referendum). And the EU will find itself in a brutally difficult situation when the rulers have offered it to them. Someone else will add the withdrawal of the members of the Seimas and then we will be a real USSR. Nor do I rule out early elections, “wrote R. Juknevičienė to the party colleagues.
He recalled that “Lithuania is committed to protecting minority rights by joining the European Union,” and the idea of a referendum initiated by colleagues will serve the “peasants” of Ramūnas Karbauskis and their opposition politicians.
“The worst option that could have happened in this history”, evaluated R. Juknevičienė the idea of a referendum on the association.
When asked what L. Kasčiūnas, president of the Seimas NSGK, himself said about this rhetoric from R. Juknevičienė, he had not heard anything about it.
“I will not hide that opinions differed in the party, we did not hide our position, but it certainly was not like that and in some way it is inspired by third parties, especially those who are openly hostile towards us. The rhetoric on the part of the colleague can be cutting, I recognize the right to debate, but I do not think it is necessary to talk about it here now. I did not see those correspondences and, in fact, I would not have much time to be interested in them, “said L. Kasčiūnas did not say much.
Wait at least two terms in power
Before presenting the Association Law in the Seimas, MEP R. Juknevičienė also feared how the liberals of the Seimas and the Freedom Party would react to the “leaps” of the coalition partners.
“It just came to our attention then. However, the question of association is not about the majority, but about the minority. About a small minority, by the way. This minority does not destroy their families. The family is destroyed by the families. own family members. Many young people live single. Is it because of the existence of gays? Nonsense, “continued R. Juknevičienė in his recording.
From the political records, it can be assumed that the Association Bill was deemed crucial for the ruling Conservative party. R. Juknevičienė even linked with him the future of the party and the victory in the next elections.
The conservative writes that he has waited at least two conservative terms in the Seimas, but that this is impeded by the initiatives of his colleagues in the party as a referendum idea.
“I am afraid that we do not agree with the majority and the Government with those colleagues. And I was hoping that we would have a chance for at least two terms. It’s a shame, “wrote R. Juknevičienė.
Juknevičienė: I needed time to change my mind
When asked how she evaluated the results of the vote in the Seimas on the presentation of the draft Association Law, the MEP said she was not too surprised.
“This vote just shows once again how difficult it is for positive ideas to make their way into societies. Even in developed Western countries, such a law took decades. Perhaps in ten years we will be truly free and respect the rights of all people. “Said the politician.
He did not hide his reproaches to the initiators of the project. According to R. Juknevičienė, after choosing the target group of supporters of the idea and working with them, the politicians of the Lithuanian Seimas forgot the part of society that opposed them.
“The rhetoric was aggressive and that shows that the path was not entirely correct,” he said.
Juknevičienė, a longtime Conservative Party member and considered one of its leaders, admitted that she herself “took a long time to change my views and accept progress as understood in the West,” she said.
Returning to his letter to his party colleagues, he said that he always held the position that such bill initiatives, as expressed by some Conservative MPs, should not remain in the Conservative Party, but also in Lithuania.
“Referendums can only take place in very exceptional cases, as was the case with Lithuania’s accession to the European Union. All other issues must be resolved not elsewhere, but in the Seimas,” said R. Juknevičienė.
The rumors turned into a painful truth
Delfi recalls that on the eve of the presentation of the draft Association Law in the Seimas, a meeting of the Presidium of the Conservative Party was held, in which there was also a lack of brusque speeches. Delfi announced this Monday night.
On Tuesday morning, before the Seimas session, the chairman of the TS-LKD party, Gabrielius Landsbergis, denied possible disagreements in the party, and Delfi qualified the circumstances indicated in the publication of the rumors of the meeting of the Presidium of the party. .
However, the subsequent vote on the presentation of the project in the Seimas session showed that the politician was not right: twelve members of the conservative faction voted against the bill, three abstained and two did not participate in the session.
The presentation of the bill on the association in the Seimas was supported by thirty-three members of the conservative faction, but this was not enough. After the vote, the draft was rejected and then returned to its editors for improvement.
A new version of the project should return to the Seimas in the fall.
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