Political Scientists Raise Many Nasty Questions For Paluck: Maybe It’s Time To Make A Decision

“A leader is in any case responsible for the success or failure of his party. It certainly would not be appropriate for a leader to deviate from him or seek other reasons. Of course, there may be other reasons for your experts, political scientists would find more than one, but the fact that the party leader does not help the party, I think, is quite clear. If a leader of a party cannot win any of the elections that have taken place in these few years, it shows that something is wrong with a leader’s charisma, with a leader’s ability to attract people. Apparently, it becomes a serious question for the party itself if the leader is really the one who helps the party or the one who suspends the party’s activities, “said Tomas Janeliūnas, professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Sciences (VU TSPMI) of Vilnius University.

He does not rule out the possibility that the LSDP is considering changing the party chairman.

“A leader is very important to any party in one way or another. This can be one of the simplest and fastest solutions LSDP can try to do. We will see how members will view this opportunity at the party convention. Leaders and personalities are very important in Lithuania. In this sense, we are quite primitive voters, we are very attached to specific personalities and we value everything in the context of sympathies-antipathies, instead of looking at the content of the programs, “he said.

The professor says that G. Paluck’s party leadership also had advantages, but they faded in the context of the election.

“GRAMO. Paluck came to lead the party with a view to changing it. In fact, in terms of the program, the renewal of the party, much work has been done on the idea itself. But something is not like that with the way in which these works are communicated to the public, or with the content that is not as attractive as the party would like. Here, the party members await serious work to find out where the main problems are and why they are not able to win back the voters, “he said the VU TSPMI professor, emphasizing that in this election the LSDP did not defend its position neither in the city nor in the regions.

“The LSDP is failing to build a stronger base of support in the larger cities. In Western Europe and the United States, meanwhile, the cities of the left have quite strong support. There are a lot of people from the working-class and middle-class professions in cities that have a positive attitude towards social democratic ideas, ”commented T. Janeliūnas.

He also points out that the LSDP did not highlight the position of the left party in these elections either.

“The LSDP fails to show that they are the true Social Democrats. On the one hand, they lose to liberals because of clearly stated values ​​such as human rights, equal opportunities, etc. On the other hand, they lose to the “peasants” due to economic attitudes of the left: greater state support, positions of the welfare state, and so on. LSDP on both sides fails to secure the true position of the left party, ”he said.

The professor thus recalls that there are many left-wing parties or political forces that declare the views of the left in Lithuania, so the LSDP, unable to highlight its strong left-wing position, lost the votes of left-wing voters.

Mr. Paluck can’t get the party out of the desert

According to Rima Urbonaitė, a political scientist at the Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), if a person is visible and active within the party, it does not mean that they will attract the attention of the public. According to her, the ratings show that not all voters have an opinion on Paluck.

“The party chairman should be one of the most prominent personalities and it is natural that not only the internal support of the party is needed, but also the authority of the party chairman throughout society. Looking at Paluck’s qualifications, we can say that it’s still hard to recognize in society. There are quite a few people who don’t have an opinion on it. After all, Mr. Paluck has been the president of the LSDP for some time and has been hanging around in public. There seems to be a kind of non-piercing glass ceiling. G. Paluck is quite talkative, has a sense of humor, is not hysterical … It seems that everything seems to work, but in the case of G. Paluck it does not work. The party should ask if that president is acceptable or unacceptable ”, said R. Urbonaitė.

According to her, the parties should not be satisfied with the fact that G. Paluckas cannot win in a single-member constituency.

“For some time, the question has been raised as to how strong G. Paluck is on his own and how much he can give a positive boost to the party. If G. Paluckas cannot win with just one member, that’s not good news for the party, “he said.

“GRAMO. He spent a lot of time showing Paluck his skills. This was not the first pick of the match with G. Paluck. He failed to get the LSDP out of the desert. This shows that G. Paluckas is not capable of making a breakthrough in the party, ”said R. Urbonaitė.

LDSP strong frame problem

The MRU lecturer also points out that the LSDP does not have prominent personalities in the party. According to her, this does not save G. Paluck either, because he does not have a strong team with which to carry out the game.

“We see a lack of leadership in the party, not a single leader. G. Paluckas doesn’t have a team. He can’t just be president on his own, because if you don’t have a very strong team around, it’s natural that it could be very difficult for you. . It seems to me that Mr. Paluck has the problem that his close team is weak. He has no people in the party to go to for intelligence. This is not just a problem for Mr. Paluck, it is a problem for the called the party leadership. We should see many more leaders in the party. The party does not have a strong guard that carries the entire party forward, “said R. Urbonaitė.

R. Urbonaitė points out that the LSDP should be ordering the party within the opposition. According to her, the party must be attentive to what happens in the chapters and think about the selection of people who will be seen.

“Obviously, the people chosen by the party today are simply not suitable, and we will not find them very soon either. LSDP rehabilitation will not take place in a year. It seems like a long job, because there are more cracks and holes in this house than the neighbors themselves thought. It needs major repairs here, “he said.

According to a political scientist at MRU, a proper selection of people could bring back voters who lost the LSDP.

“The party is above all people, and if you do not invest in the party’s people, it is natural that you will have a result that will hardly be able to satisfy anyone. By not investing in people, your unsystematic selection can interfere. If the people were irrelevant, the Conservatives would probably not hide G. Landsbergis before the elections and they would not take I. Šimonytė as a front man. People care. After all, let’s see what would happen to the Labor Party if it weren’t for Viktor Uspaskich. It’s hard to expect the LSDP to be able to maneuver without brilliant personalities, ”he said.