The Seimas said goodbye until fall: the lightning war will soon begin

Some politicians have already evaluated the end of the political season. In your opinion, much has been done.

For example, Ramūnas Karbauskis, the largest of the largest ruling faction of the Union of Peasants and Greens of Lithuania (LVŽS) in Seimas, said that during this period more had been done than can be imagined.

Opposition leader Seimas, Gabrielius Landsbergis, emphasized the rulers’ attempts to test the limits of democracy.

Ran after the government

Professor A.Krupavičius of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) said the Seimas spring session can be called a pandemic, quarantine.

The coronavirus situation has been unprecedented in the history of our parliament.

“The session began with the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Independence, but unfortunately the 1930s have not become the starting point for deeper reflections. Politicians do not necessarily have to deal with such reflections, but it was still necessary to look back and it was not. This was immediately followed by a quarantine period in which political initiatives were unilaterally transferred from parliament to the Government of the Republic. Neither the parliamentary majority nor parliament as an institution played a more substantial role. And, it can be said that since mid-March, even confusion has prevailed in the Seimas for some time, “said the political scientist.

The session began with the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Independence, but that year unfortunately did not become the starting point for deeper reflections.

The first question, according to A. Krupavičius, was whether the Seimas should do something about the situation when the government is trying to manage the pandemic crisis.

Another question that arises is, if so, how: work in the parliament building, use remote technology or the like? The third thing is what to do, what decisions to make.

“This was essentially dictated by the government at the beginning of the quarantine, with amendments to various laws specifically designed to control the pandemic. The range of laws was really wide: from health issues to economics, even in some cases, national security, because the quarantine included the closing of borders and the like, “recalled the VMU professor.

Basically, at the beginning of the quarantine, the agenda was dictated by the government, proposing amendments to various laws that were specifically designed to control the pandemic.

After a time, as A. Krupavičius noted, he calmed down. modus operandi, The Seimas has returned to the activities that it has to carry out.

However, here, too, according to him, we had an incident, a kind of parliamentary resistance, when most of the Seimas met one day of the week, and the opposition decided to sit down the next business day of parliament.

“Certain elements of resistance have emerged, but it is very good that those differences and hostilities have not escalated into a deeper crisis. But in summary, I think that parliament was still a corridor running after the government,” emphasized the political scientist.

Electoral repertoire

According to A. Krupavičius, during the spring session of the Seimas, the rulers were in the light of the political ramps due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The opposition, he said, has moved into the shadows.

According to the VMU professor, relations between the rulers and the opposition were largely traditional and habitual.

However, there was an element of the electoral campaign that did not appear. As an example, he mentioned the temporary committees of investigation that had completed some work.

Suppose Stasys Jakeliūnas’s investigation into the 2008-2009 crisis.

According to A. Krupavičius, there were also some unfinished works.

Among them, he highlighted the fact that no judges had been appointed to the Constitutional Court. After that, various interpretations emerged about the continuity of the work of the Constitutional Court.

On the other hand, we have also seen the electoral repertoire, the electoral menu, which was also occupied by parliament. These were gifts for certain groups of potential voters. This is the famous € 200 benefit for retirees, followed by similar promised benefits. to students and other groups. The electoral element could also be really visible in the decisions, “emphasized the political scientist.

The electoral element in the decisions can certainly also be seen.

Relations between the rulers and the opposition.

Governors accuse opposition conservatives of engaging in destructive activities, intimidating people, and the like.

According to A. Krupavičius, at the beginning of the quarantine, the opposition sometimes folded the stick.

Later, his criticism of the government weakened.

However, at the end of the spring session, disputes between the ruler and the opposition, first of all the conservatives, must be seen again.

“But again, that opposition is not the same as the opposition. The Social Democrats, for example, have certainly not tried to put rulers on wheels and their criticism for a long time so far, I would say, has been moderate. The liberal movement can having been more critical in some episodes, but also … I think the Christian Democrats in the National Union-Lithuania were unprecedented in the election campaign and said more than one or two statements that were sharp, critical of the current government. that his fervor was cooled by the fact that the support of the ruling society and the Government increased, “said A. Krupavičius.

I would say that his fervor was quenched by the fact that he increased support for those in power in society and the Government.

The number of pieces will increase.

According to A. Krupavičius, the new and last session of the Seimas of this period, which will start on September 10, should be quite hot.

Its beginning will be marked by the next elections.

Speaking about the upcoming political season, the political scientist noted that the LV®S very intelligently uses every opportunity to influence different groups of voters.

Also – materially, financially.

“It will be difficult to predict whether there will be new evidence, in fact. But that there may be some benefits and support provided, for example, to certain business groups, such scenarios cannot be ruled out either, “said the VMU professor.

But that there may be some benefits, support, for example, for certain business groups, such scenarios cannot be ruled out either.

According to A. Krupavičius, the concentration of chaplains in relations between the rulers and the opposition should increase significantly.

For most of this term, we have seen the sharpest confrontation between “peasants” and conservatives.

“For mutual criticism to diminish in the run-up to the Seimas elections, such a scenario is apparently impossible. We will see the opposite image, where politics will be really sharp and will express itself in every possible way,” predicted the political scientist.

This time, the electoral campaign, as emphasized by A. Krupavičius, will recall the blitzkrieg.

In this scenario, all political forces are said to have been led primarily by the coronavirus pandemic.

If not for that, we would have seen even more episodes of political strife at the Seimas spring session.

“In Lithuania, election campaigns generally started unofficially at least half a year, often about nine months, before the elections themselves. This time, the entire campaign will probably be really short. Summer, especially since the holiday season, when politics and society are much less interesting. We should expect a new wave of elections, which will be seen in the Seimas, in the relations of the Seimas factions from the end of August, throughout September until the elections, “said A. Krupavičius.

This time, the entire campaign will probably be really short.