Skirmantas Malinauskas – about the crumbling Nausėda team: something is wrong there

According to the presidency, Antanas Bubnelis is retiring from the position of spokesperson for G. Nausėda, as well as Algė Budrytė, the chancellor of the presidency, who headed G. Nausėda’s staff during the presidential elections. There are more changes. You can read about it here.

Political scientists: changes are natural and timely

As noted by Professor Lauras Bielinis of Vytautas Magnus University (Vytautas Magnus University), the work in the presidency is tense and intense.

“That dynamic requires all of our efforts, some people are really going through a difficult period and those two years have probably been very difficult for them. Therefore, I understand some people who leave or change their job profile just because they are exhausted, it may be, “said the political scientist.

According to him, there may be more reasons for employees to leave G. Nausėda’s team.

“It may be that when they went to work, they followed a rather stereotypical vision of what would work and saw that work and employment flow at a time when you are practically always busy because you always have to do something, obviously that only changes your understanding. of nature and people are discovering other jobs, ”said L. Bielinis.

He also highlighted the determination of the head of the country himself.

“There may be a third natural case in which the president himself is not satisfied with the work being done and looking for people who can activate one area or another in one way or another,” said the professor.

It was also supported by Bernaras Ivanovas, a political scientist at the Vytautas Magnus University.

“I have been one of those people for so long who said that the most terrible thing about the presidency was communication and that everything must be fundamentally changed there. “The change means that the situation is changing and apparently the president will look for more competent people who can advise him a little more adequately,” he said.

According to Ivanov, there were problems in the communication of the presidential team.

“I celebrate the president’s desire to renew the team that needs to be renewed and the direction of activities in general. Everything, I think, should be good, considering the very difficult confrontation on the European Council, on vaccination, ”said the VMU political scientist.

The team’s communication problems, according to him, could later hamper G. Nausėda’s pursuit of the second term as president.

“It just came to our attention then. If so, then the second term will probably not be taken seriously, as the communication was really very sad. Especially not the president, but the team gaps,” added B. Ivanov.

Malinauskas: so many people wouldn’t change in two years if everything was fine

For his part, S. Malinauskas, former advisor to former Prime Minister S. Skvernelis, recalled that there were significant changes in the president’s team before, a year after the presidency of G. Nausėda, Aistis Zabarauskas, the head of his Communication Group , and Two other senior advisers, Vytautas Jonas Žukas and Sonata Šulc, left.

“Communication managers are changing for the second time, now they will be the third manager. Before it was Aistis, then Ridas Jasilionis, now Raminta Stanaitytė-Česnulienė. At this point, it is obvious that it does not matter how the situation is assessed, but it shows problems of very serious communication, because never in any company or political organization will three managers change in two years, if everything went very well ”, S. Malinauskas emphasized.

According to him, the president imagines that changes in the team will help solve communication problems.

“This is likely to not only happen, but it will bring even more problems, simply because the often changing people who are responsible for communication are clearly sent the message that they can only be heard very temporarily, not necessarily with great force “. noted the former adviser to S. Skvernel.

According to S. Malinauskas, G. Nausėda, despite the position of his advisers, often speaks extremely harshly and does not avoid strict rhetoric, and sometimes the opposite happens: the head of the country is too passive in some cases.

“All the communication consultants were very experienced. Aistis had a lot of experience, she had a partner in one of the communication agencies, she had an excellent knowledge of political communication. Reed is also a former adviser to the prime minister of his day and a journalist. Now comes the experienced man too. “If the president fails to resolve the communication problems now, it will probably be clear that the point is not with the advisers,” he said.

According to S. Malinauskas, the presidency should improve relations with the media and avoid radical rhetoric.

“The best advice for a presidential adviser would be to fundamentally reconsider his relationship with the media, avoid newsrooms that allow people to speak with impunity, or the Inquisition, execution and the like, it doesn’t help,” said a former Skvernel. said the counselor.

See similarities in communication between Skvernelis and Naus comunicaciónda

Speaking about G. Nausėda’s communication, S. Malinauskas also recalled his experience working with S. Skvernelis. The latter, as S. Malinauskas pointed out, also did not avoid sharp rhetoric that was not so easy for advisers to break.

“There were enough of those sharp speeches (S. Skvernelis – aut.p.), but perhaps the most paradoxical – I remember the election campaign (() when G. Nausėda positioned himself as the opposite of such communication from S. Skvernelis. He said that all had to sit at a common table, which would be requesting and seeking compromises, and it is clear that he is repeating with great force the communication of Mr. Skvernel with his very sharp speeches. Perhaps in some cases, when he is upset, for questions related to his own evaluation or that of his wife, “said S. Malinauskas.

He did not hide his doubts about whether the new members of the team would be able to soften G. Nausėda’s harsh statements in various situations.

“Closing the door to journalists or blunt statements about the Inquisition and the executions is certainly not a phrase put on the lips of the councilors.” Obviously, the president will continue to do so in this place because it is a difficult personal matter to handle. If you have that position, a character, you will not change it. So I think the team will have to adapt, ”said S. Malinauskas.

Even more so when he realized when, after part of his mandate, the personal positions of the president himself became evident.

“When it comes to communication, I highly doubt that it is greatly mitigated. Furthermore, I can say from experience that it is more the ball that rolls off the mountain, there is a lot of inertia. As we approached the middle of the period , the character of the president, his points of view and the form of communication became more or less clear, ”said S. Malinauskas.

However, he noted that the new members of the team, who play a key role in inter-institutional communication, will now be able to improve relations with the new government.

“The only thing is that I believe that those advisers who are more” behind the scenes “, especially when it comes to the Chancellor of the Presidency, can now have a new confidence credit to communicate again with the Government and the Seimas,” he added. Added S. Malinauskas.