[ad_1]
Although on Monday, after a meeting of the Government Emergency Commission (WESC), it was proposed to release restrictions on circulation in some municipalities of the ring, the issue was not discussed by the ministers on Wednesday. This decision was postponed to next week.
“As the quarantine order expires at the end of next week, and next Wednesday we will have to decide which restrictions we will have to extend and which ones to abandon, at that time it is likely that the activities that we could talk about releasing will be more.” not to do, ”said the prime minister.
Such government deviation, in the opinion of political scientists, although not particularly beneficial to the image of those in power, may be justified in the face of a pandemic. Silence and criticism of the opposition for allegedly prolonged excessive restrictions. However, according to experts, even this is currently more background noise than a real threat to the government.
Expectations should not be raised too early
A few days ago, at a WEBS meeting, the Government approved a proposal to accept the liberation of the movement between the cities of Alytus, Šiauliai and Panevėžys and their district municipalities. The minister also assured that day that the issue would be discussed on Wednesday.
When the decision was postponed on Wednesday, I. Šimonytė considered that next week a decision could be made not only on several smaller municipalities, but also on the movement between other municipalities in the ring.
A similar situation was faced by the Government a week ago, when, at the last minute, a decision was made not to discuss the issue of opening beauty centers and shops and not to include it on the agenda of Government meetings. Little by little, the prime minister’s previous promise to consider quarantined releases each week is fading.
Professor Tomas Janeliūnas from the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Sciences (VU TSPMI) says that such an unstable position of the Government is not favorable for itself, but in this case it is possible to choose the lesser evil.
“Of course, raising expectations too early is definitely not a good thing. On the other hand, apparently you can understand the situation of the Government when there is no desire to rush too much with the quarantine relief. Better trends are expected.
There is no risk of too rapid releases, apparently there are also fears that this may have the effect of having to tighten those restrictions rather quickly. This would be an even worse option than postponing the questions, ”explains the political scientist.
In his opinion, the cabinet, together with the prime minister, probably understands that these decisions can have a negative impact, but it is likely not based on their own opinion but on the advice of health experts.
Don’t change anything – as well as the decision
Lauras Bielinis, a professor and political scientist at Vytautas Magnus University (Vytautas Magnus University), thinks similarly. The expert says that the government should not be harshly criticized in this case.
“The government has data on all the possibilities of coronavirus. In this way they can anticipate, plan certain changes. But it really responds in each meeting to the situation that epidemiologists point out.
Changes have been promised to be considered, but epidemiologists appear to be opposed. Your word is probably the essential word. We have to realize here that our desires are there, there are economic problems that can be solved, but there is also a disease that must be tackled decisively, ”says the VMU professor.
According to L. Bielinis, not changing anything is also a political decision. Only in this case it is much more complicated than the decision to release the quarantine restrictions.
“In fact, release will always be welcomed by many people, especially those interested. But making a decision that corresponds to the current situation is very difficult.
I believe that the Government is fulfilling its functions. We are always waiting for the situation to improve and improve every week. But the situation is not improving by the government, but by ourselves, our behavior, discipline and the unforeseen effect of the pandemic, ”says political scientist L. Bielinis.
Šimonytė: Communication is very important
Likewise, a week ago, when the government was stalled over the liberation of the fields of beauty and commerce, political scientists drew attention to political communication, or rather its lack.
The political scientist of the Mykolas Romeris University, Rima Urbonaitė tv3.lt, affirmed then that the pressure of the council of experts not to rush with the releases sets off sparks in the government itself.
“Then, naturally, everyone started to think that something was wrong with the government and there were some disagreements. In fact, this work was done in a hurry, and especially the announcements were made in a hurry. If they had not existed and expectations had not been raised, the situation would have been completely different, ”said R. Urbonaitė.
Prime Minister I. Šimonyt noted noted that deliberate political communication was one of her priorities even before her appointment to the post of Prime Minister. The politician previously worked in the government of Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and allegedly saw his mistakes, which he said he would try to avoid.
“Probably one of the biggest mistakes that has been made is the belief that people are wise, they will understand everything.
People are really wise, but it is not so easy to understand many things at first glance, when the situation suddenly changes, ”I. Šimonytė told reporters.
The opposition is also an obstacle
The opposition factions in the Seimas are also not sparing criticism of the ruling government and the quarantine restrictions it has adopted and their delayed release. A. Širinskienė, a representative of the Greens and Peasants Party and a member of the Seimas, has repeatedly publicly criticized unrestricted restrictions on movement between municipalities. In his opinion, these are lengthy and redundant.
“It just came to our notice then. And we said in our guidelines when we wrote to the Government that perhaps those restrictions, with strict control, would only be necessary during important holiday periods. {…} If they have a purpose now that nobody is in control. and the movement is substantially returning to its previous position, I really doubt it a lot. But this causes many difficulties for the people, “the politician taught in an interview with tv3.lt.
Representatives of other parties are also critical. According to political scientists, all this is normal and predictable, so far it does not have a negative impact on the work of the Government.
“Is this criticism justified? The answer will be given by the results that the hospitals give us. How many are sick and how do we really survive that epidemic? And here it is not a political question, but rather a medical one.
The pressure of the opposition has and will have some influence. The government will inevitably have to look at the issues in a more constructive and precise way, ”says political scientist L. Bielinis.
According to T. Janeliūnas, the main arguments of the opposition are critical related to crisis management. Still, they don’t seem to be particularly affected yet.
“But I don’t see that the opposition gains much from that. So far, they don’t seem to be very successful in turning that criticism of theirs into effective policy.
Certainly, there are no easy solutions or easy jobs in times of crisis. It is clear that the popularity of the government may also decline in the long term. But it will also depend on the dynamics of a concrete situation, of concrete decisions. It is still too early to decide how to get out of this crisis ”, says the VU TSPMI professor.
Decisions await next week
According to I. Šimonytė, the quarantine decision expires next week, but will be extended
“It is clear that the full quarantine was lifted on March 1. we will not have opportunities because the situation will not be so good “, recognized the Head of Government.
According to her, currently in the last 14 days the figure of 250 cases is registered in 100 thousand. population, so trends are improving.
“It can be expected that next week, seeing that scenario more C2, the type of secondary that allows us to talk about more liberalization of activities or some regulatory relaxation. We will have to consider under what conditions to extend the validity of the resolution, ”said I. Šimonytė.
Next week, with the facilitation of the quarantine, the Cabinet of Ministers may also consider the possibility of opening cultural institutions.
“I really believe that next week we will be able to make decisions about cultural institutions, that does not mean that some massive events can be organized, there is still a long way to go, but people in small groups and families could visit the gallery and see an exhibition” I said. Šimonytė.
The government allowed it since February 22. Allowing beginners to learn mixed in a school chosen by the Vilnius City Municipality Administration, by regularly conducting a pilot prophylactic examination for coronavirus diagnosis in the homes of primary students and contact staff .
[ad_2]
