[ad_1]
On Thursday, the opposition Lithuanian Union of Greens and Peasants (LVŽS) announced the composition and program of the shadow government and called the first meeting. What to expect from an alternative cabinet and why doesn’t it include S. Skvernel?
R. Karbauskis, president of LVŽS and head of the shadow government, addressed Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė on the current affairs talk show of the news portal tv3.lt.
“We are ready to help you get to work. If you wish, we are ready to do it, ”said R. Karbauskis.
Skvernel politely refused
“We discussed what kind of shadow government should be: coalition or one-party. The experience of Lithuania is very limited. We look at that experience found in other countries. <...> In many countries, France, Great Britain and many others, the shadow governments are made up of a large coalition faction. They are not a coalition, ”said R. Karbauskis.
According to the peasant leader, this is one of the main reasons why S. Skvernelis is not in the shadow cabinet announced on Thursday. According to R. Karbauskis, the former prime minister wanted to have both Social Democrats and workers in the shadow government, but the peasants chose to form a cabinet with only their members.
As a result, as S. Skvernel himself publicly commented, he politely refused to be the head of the shadow government.
“We did what we had to do. We have done what is mandatory for all major opposition groups in a democracy. <...> We will do it to the greatest extent possible ”, declared the president of LVŽS.
There was no other choice
In an interview with the news portal tv3.lt at the end of November, he stated that he did not have a place in the shadow government.
“I am the president of the party. In this situation, I don’t think it is very logical for me to assume the position of any minister in the shadow government. We have really great members of the Seimas and not members of the Seimas in the party, not only in the party, so the cabinet would be really very strong, ”said R. Karbauskis then.
Now the peasant leader assures that at that time he had in mind the fact that he does not imagine himself in the position of minister. According to him, the published list of ministers shows that there are enough competent people in the ranks of the peasants that it should not be a “minister of health or culture”.
“Because Saul Skvernelis refused [būti premjeru], there was no other option for the party president to assume that responsibility. There was no doubt in our party council that it should be, ”said R. Karbauskis.
There are no former members of the Government
The shadow peasant government does not include not only S. Skvernelis, but also other members of the previous government. Former Minister of Social Security and Labor Linas Kukuraitis, an adviser to Prime Minister Lukas Savickas, previously nominated to the Ministers of Economy and Innovation, and former Chancellor of the Government Algirdas Stončaitis did not find an alternative cabinet seat.
R. Karbauskis assured that L. Kukuraitis “agreed amicably” with Tomas Tomilinas and granted him the position of Minister. According to the peasant leader, no one proposed the candidacy of A. Stončaitis, and L. Savickas refused to be a minister because, according to R. Karbauskis, he was learning to be a member of the Seimas. Still, the peasant leader assured that these politicians would certainly help the shadow ministers.
“In this situation, I understand that political scientists or those who don’t like us very much are looking for some kind of hook to stick to. But after reading the statements of Saulius Skvernelis in the public space, he congratulates himself on the formation of this Government, and does not criticize or condemn its formation in any way ”, stated R. Karbauskis.
According to the president of LVŽS, S. Skvernelis will seek to unite the opposition factions. R. Karbauskis pointed out that the former prime minister would be the most suitable candidate to occupy the position of leader of the opposition.
It won’t face, but it will help
2013 later, the former opposition conservatives announced that they had formed a shadow cabinet headed by Andrius Kubilius. According to R. Karbauskis, the government in the shadow of the peasants will be different, because they will not only declare their existence, but they will actually work.
On Thursday, the shadow ministers approved the program, the regulations and took the first steps. According to R. Karbauskis, Shadow Government meetings will take place once in 1-2 weeks.
“Our goal is not to increase confrontation, not to criticize, but to examine those issues that are very important to Lithuania. <...> To help understand what mistakes can be avoided, “said the shadow prime minister.
Stores would not have closed
Among the first mistakes of I. Šimonytė’s office, R. Karbauskis mentions the management of the pandemic.
“What are you doing? Why have you put people under house arrest for three months? Why are you destroying small businesses? Everything can be decided differently “, is convinced the leader of LVŽS.
If the peasants had won the October elections, according to R. Karbauskis, they would not have closed the shops, which have an independent entrance and can serve a customer. The campesino president said the now approved quarantine releases solve only part of the problems in handling the pandemic.
“We need to create an order, a very clear program of how we will vaccinate our society,” suggested R. Karbauskis.
He said that everyone in the country, from the youngest to the oldest, should know when to get vaccinated.
“It just came to our attention then. The prime minister says one thing, the minister says another, the third person says the third, which only makes people mistrust him,” said the shadow prime minister.
According to R. Karbauskis, another thing that the government must take is to approve a procedure in which it would be clear what restrictions will be released for people who have acquired immunity. The farmer leader also suggested allowing residents to choose which vaccine they would like to vaccinate.
“We do not want to take advantage of this situation, we do not want to invite rallies, we do not want to invite some protests, collect signatures, because it will not give anything. People will not be better off with this, people will be better with clarity and clarity comes when the government makes decisions.
We are not a government, we have formed a shadow government, it is our duty to help the government make the right decisions. We are ready to cooperate, unlike the opposition of four years ago, we want to help the government, because we want the Lithuanian people to be better here and now.
And no matter what happens in four years, if we win, if others win or if other governments win, what a difference. It is important that during the four years we are all in Lithuania, we live better and we can enjoy that we are all healthy and alive ”, said R. Karbauskis.
Shadow cabinet
Ligita Girskienė became Shadow Minister for the Environment, Arvydas Nekrošius became Minister of Energy, Deividas Labanavičius became Minister of Economy and Innovation, Valius Ąžuolas became Minister of Finance, Dainius Gaižauskas Minister of National Defense Aušrinė Norkienė in the Minister of Culture, Tomas Tomilinas the Minister of Transport and Communications – Arvydas Vaitkus.
Aurelijus Veryga was entrusted with the shadow Ministry of Health, Eugenijus Jovaiša became the Minister of Education and Sports, Agnė Širinskienė became the Minister of Justice, Giedrius Surplys became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guoga Burokienė became into the Minister of the Interior and Kęstutis Mažeika became the Minister of Agriculture.
All members of the Cabinet, except A. Vaitkus and Ramūnas Karbauskis, members of the Klaip Klada City Council, are parliamentarians.
[ad_2]
