The first significant stumbling block of the Šimonytė cabinet: no one trusted credit for a long time and could not provide

Sorry for the expectations

The quarantine mitigations announced Monday were not accepted Wednesday. At the government meeting, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė stated that decisions on the discussions would be taken next week, all at the same time.

“We are doing the intermediate work that needs to be done, we are updating the scheme and next week we will try to approve that updated scheme at the Government meeting, and if the amendments to the resolution mature during that time, we will make amendments to the resolution,” he said. I. Šimonytė at the government meeting.

According to the Prime Minister, it is desired that the package of all relevant decisions be taken at the same time.

“Some of the activities have led to discussions with experts, but the problem is probably not the discussion itself, the discussion is good, but the fact that the discussions took place on Monday and Tuesday was largely closed last night and left some problems unsolved. “I said. Šimonytė.

“And then perhaps it would be good if those decisions or those guidelines, no matter how much the Government needs here, validated more, less unanimously and more or less at the same time, so that there is not a whole series of decisions,” he said. said.

The prime minister apologized on Facebook Wednesday night for the hopes raised. Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys, who was eager to discuss future quarantine relief on Monday, declined to communicate with journalists on Wednesday. Like the prime minister herself.

After the Government meeting, the Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė participated in the press conference. The policy reiterated that it does not back down from its ministry’s proposals to liberalize quarantine services and commercial sectors.

The government is currently under great pressure: companies, mayors of the country’s low-incidence municipalities, members of the opposition, the public and even coalition partners are pushing to ease the quarantine.

Economist Raimondas Kuodis also spoke about the uneven conditions for business on Thursday. He said that when a large company finds a milestone in the nonessential goods trade, small businesses remain closed.

“You are loading chips and you may accidentally buy a vacuum cleaner. Of course, this demoralizes the little ones who cannot do these things, but the reaction must be certain and clear: if morale does not help, there must be heavy fines for violations of the spirit of quarantine, ”said the economist.

The transfer of excessive power to the experts is also criticized. I. Šimonytė said in an apology on Facebook that the experts’ disagreement does not mean that the government will not make the necessary decisions.

“Tripping on thin ice”

Tomas Janeliūnas, a professor and political scientist at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science (VU TSPMI), said he sees an obstacle in the thin ice sheet in the government’s activities in recent weeks. But it is certainly not a turning point, because in a crisis situation, mistakes are simply impossible to avoid.

“It is a period of crisis, and no one has been able to believe that confidence for a long time. Everything that is being done right now is being done urgently. Manage the whole crisis, vaccinate, stimulate the economy or support companies , all in the face of the crisis. And it is understandable that it is natural to feel dissatisfied. Because there probably cannot be great and ideal solutions for everyone. ” Delphi said political scientist T. Janeliūnas.

He argued that this was not a tipping point or a reflection of negative government activities, but a natural process.

“Naturally, the best solutions are sought, but in such circumstances it is not so easy to find them,” he explained.

The VU TSPMI professor said this situation can be described as walking on thin ice, hoping it won’t break.

“I think those slips or slips on that thin ice are quite a natural phenomenon. It is clear that the decisions will be criticized and I have no doubt that they will not be satisfied. Because not everything can be changed with multiple decisions, there will probably be a long and careful decision-making process, and these criticisms will gradually accumulate, ”said T. Janeliūnas.

The interlocutor said that pandemic fatigue would also contribute to criticism from the government.

“It turns into anger, dissatisfaction and those reactions,” explained the political scientist.

According to T. Janeliūnas, the hope given by the ministers that the quarantine will be relaxed, which was not timely and misplaced, is due to the lack of a clear plan.

“The situation is changing and decisions depend on that changing situation. On the one hand, it can be understood that the Government wants to maintain a certain optimism, to give hope that not everything is drawn in black. And that hope of postponing it later is something very unpleasant.

It is necessary to maneuver and it is not easy to be the creator of pessimistic scenarios, and on the other hand, without giving an overly optimistic image, which may then need to be changed very quickly ”, he considered.

Political decisions are needed

The political scientist T. Janeliūnas recalled that I. Šimonytė, who had begun working in the Government, assured that all decisions related to the management of the coronavirus pandemic will be discussed with experts. This was an attempt to show that decision-making in this regard would differ from the business model of former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis.

But now there are rumors from critics that it is not clear who has the last word: ministers or experts.

The political scientist said that the government continues to fulfill its promise, based on the position of experts.

“But it is clear that political decisions are linked to political responsibility,” he said.

He argued that a risk assessment and the provision of objective data to the public also required a political decision.

“After presenting the data, knowing some of the negative consequences, we chose a lesser evil. That choice between those evils, major or minor, and it is a political choice. There may be a bit of a delay here, perhaps, to make it clear where responsibility will be taken, knowing that it will have negative consequences, but it is accepted due to the solution of other problems, ”said political scientist T. Janeliūnas. An example.

Time to make decisions

The professor of the University Mykolas Romeris (MRU), political scientist Rima Urbonaitė affirmed that the behavior of the Government seen this week is one of its first setbacks. It arose naturally, according to the interlocutor, due to the crisis situation.

“No government can function without mistakes, that is a fact. Especially the Government that reaches such a situation when there is a pandemic in flames. It is obvious that it was programmed to avoid errors, ”said R. Urbonaitė.

However, according to the political scientist, there should be no rush to cancel the government. How much “crushed” trust credit can still be restored.

“I think so, there is some broken trust credit, a little bit is depleted. (…) But that the capital stock returns, the decisions of the Government can change the situation, it will depend on the Cabinet of Ministers ”, said R. Urbonaitė.

The political scientist said that the decisions taken by the government “must become a common denominator for all.” And this means that the decisions that are made must be of interest to everyone.

“It just came to our knowledge then. And weighing, more importantly, the economy or life, is extremely difficult. How to name everything is not a question worth a million, but a billion,” said political scientist R. Urbonaitė about the challenges facing the Government.

Interlocutor Delphi He explained that an audience of all stakeholders was appreciated, but that political decisions were also needed.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Where there is a problem with the Government, it is necessary to realize that it is good to listen to the arguments and the emerging needs of the different groups, but there comes a point when it comes to assuming responsibilities and making certain decisions. It is up to the government to assess when the moment comes when it no longer makes sense to listen, but rather when it is time to make decisions, “he explained.

He explained that “I can be a sinner all the time” is not possible.

“We need to find a common denominator between experts and companies, other interest groups. The main challenge here. How this will be done and is the most important question, the biggest mistakes can also be made here. But we will see later ”, said R. Urbonaitė.

Persist your anonsu

When asked if the government had been slow to assume political responsibility for managing the quarantine, R. Urbonaitė declined to comment. But he highlighted a fundamental mistake the government made this week.

“It just came to our notice then. If there is no 100 per cent guarantee that one decision or another will be made, no announcement will be made. Due to the enormous social tensions currently prevailing, and those messages are only getting stronger. trigeriu. Here it was uncontrollable and not all communication is in a single pin ”, emphasized the interlocutor.

MRU political scientist R. Urbonaitė also emphasized that soon the government headed by I. Šimonytė will no longer be able to point a finger at the activities of former ministers.

“Now it seems that the current government just has to be proactive to see how the problem tries to solve it. Instead of anticipating the problem out of sight, this is the most difficult situation. The government goes to the point of pointing the finger at the government. above and his mistakes will no longer make sense because some time has passed ”. Delphi declared R. Urbonaitė.