Political scientists assess the potential of the new Skvernelis and Karbauskis relationships: mutual benefits will lead to greater cooperation

But on Friday, “peasants” and “workers” reported progress in negotiating a rotating opposition leader. According to R. Karbauskis, according to Elta, S. Skvernelis will be offered to become the leader of the opposition, at least from the “peasant” side.

According to Professor Lauras Bielinis from Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), the position of the opposition leader is sufficiently clear and would probably allow S. Skvernelis to continue his status as political leader in the public space and make his political claims a reality in the future. .

“Skvernell is a very clear sign that he claims to be one of the leaders of the political system. It must be recognized that the opposition leader of the Seimas is a fairly clear position, which will allow Skvernelis to display himself as a political leader with important claims in the future, “L. Bielinis told Eltai.

He said he was skeptical of speeches that the foundations of cooperation between S. Skvernelis and the “peasants” could have been weakened as necessary by the fact that after the Seimas elections S. Skvernelis became an ordinary parliamentarian.

“We do not see any signs that Skvernel is willing to create its own political structure. We can talk about it, but it is not yet. We do not see that it is negotiating with anyone or that it intends to run into another political force. I am practically sure that Skvernelis It will remain in the orbit of the Peasant Greens, because that cooperation is mutually beneficial, “said L. Bielinis.

For her part, Rima Urbonaitė, a political scientist at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), says she also sees a basis for greater cooperation between S. Skvernelis and the “peasants”. According to her, pragmatic mutual interest should be a sufficient factor to maintain S. Skvernel’s orbit over the “peasant” party, at least for the next few years.

“If Skvernelis decided to withdraw from the LVŽS faction, he would risk losing both political weight and visibility in the public sphere. At least for now, I think it is not a good time for Skvernelis to withdraw, even if disagreements or differences between him and Karbauskis become more frequent “, said R. Urbonaitė, pointing out that in general such decisions must be taken in the race – until the electoral period.

On the other hand, according to the political scientist, there should be no major changes in terms of closer cooperation between S. Skvernel and the “peasants”. R. Urbonaitė points out that S. Skvernelis is not one of those politicians who would feel very comfortable under someone else’s control. Therefore, the MRU lecturer reasoned, the former prime minister’s desire to remain as independent as possible will probably be one of the main reasons why S. Skvernelis would not actually join the “peasants” party, where a person , R. Karbauskis, plays the main violin.

“Four years under the leadership of the Government, I believe, further delayed S. Skvernel’s idea of ​​joining any political formation. If Skvernelis became the leader of the opposition for some time, I believe that under the current conditions in the opposition , both Karbauskis and Skvenrelis would be satisfied with the roles they have received, ”said R. Urbonaitė.

Still, the political scientist noted, although the role of the opposition leader sounds good, the question remains how to guarantee the real work of the opposition. In his opinion, the fact that so far the leader of the opposition has been raised by only two opposition forces, the “workers” and the “peasants”, runs the risk that Skvernel’s role is a sham.

The LSDP’s decision to work in the opposition is especially relevant for S. Skvernelis

However, if the opposition could be mobilized, continued Vytautas University professor Magnus L. Bielinis, the opposition forces in parliament could acquire extremely important instruments to act in the Seimas.

“The united opposition can really do a lot. In addition, the opposition, in this configuration of the Seimas, is very strong, adding all the votes. On certain risky issues, where the ruling authorities may disagree, and there will be enough issues of this type , the united opposition can even have a significant impact on the decisions of the Seimas. So being united is basically beneficial for them. As a result, the issue of the opposition leader is not just a treat for a separate seat on the board, the The role of the united opposition is serious, “he said.

For the opposition to realize its potential, L. Bielinis emphasized that the participation of the Seimas Social Democrats was also necessary. So far, according to the VMU professor, this latest opposition party seems confused and poorly organized.

“There are really a lot of problems with the LSDP today. They are probably not decided on the inside yet. That internal order doesn’t exist yet. So the participation of the Social Democrats in a united opposition would be helpful, but if they will be able to understand this and participating productively is a difficult issue. Perhaps when a new party leader is elected, when a clearer hierarchy is formed, perhaps we will see more suitable opportunities for expression and evaluation for cooperation with other opposition forces, “he said.

According to the professor, the Social Democrats should stop considering the mistakes made during the last Seimas elections and undertake real work in the most concentrated opposition possible.

“If they asked you for advice, I would tell you that you need to take a step and forget about all the past of the party. Because if you think in equivalents a year ago, or ten years ago, then you are in the past and you are drowning. The current situation requires a real flexibility on the part of the Socdems and they must be aware of this ”, summarized the political scientist.