There was no shortage of passions in the quagmire: is it possible to be angry with Šimonytė for the truth?

In an interview with the ELTA news agency published on Sunday, commenting on the initiative to remove MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius from the post of chairman of the Seimas Human Rights Committee, I. Šimonytė said that “if the people don’t like this government, not like these committees will be able to come and elect the presidents they want. “You can read the full interview here.

Such a phrase sparked a debate in the public sphere. Some people called it a crack in the voters’ face, while others said the prime minister was only telling the truth and was doing nothing wrong.

According to public relations specialist Arūnas Armalis, the prime minister delivered such a speech without assessing the current context.

“I would call it a communication error, although we have heard a very common ‘ingrid’ phrase, because even reading it seems to hear the prime minister’s intonation. Political openness is a great value and we have few open politicians, on the contrary, but openness, which leads to frankness, can sometimes become a ‘banana peel’. Especially in the context as it is now, we live in a fairly high emotional tension and we can see how it explodes from the events of the last weeks, the scandals of social networks ”. Delphi said A. Armalis.

According to the communication expert, I. Šimonytė could have said a similar idea in another way. Especially, as A. Armalis pointed out, when the prime minister is used to speaking weighing her words.

“Now any spark ignites a fire very quickly and in such a context it is very valuable for a political leader to think about how it can affect such a sentence. This does not mean that the Prime Minister should give up her openness, but it is possible to say what she said in more ways and not so bluntly, “he said.

For his part, Professor Lauras Bielinis of the Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) evaluated the sentence pronounced by the Prime Minister in a different way. According to him, I. Šimonytė simply told the truth.

“It just came to our notice then. In fact, the prime minister said as is, otherwise it won’t be. As voters, we can criticize and be dissatisfied, but in reality we can elect a new and different government and a majority only when there is elections, ”said L. Bielinis.

However, he noted that he understood why the phrase might not have been appropriate for a portion of the audience.

“It just came to our attention then. In terms of emotions, it can sound cold, cynical, dissatisfied, like a formalized approach, so some of the public may not like it and would appreciate it being too risky to speak stylistically”, emphasized the professor .

Evaluated the unfulfilled promise of COVID-19 vaccination

Speaking only of the communication between the Government and the Prime Minister, Armalis named one of the biggest mistakes as an unfulfilled promise to be one of the first to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“The first mistake I was surprised to hear from the prime minister, who really always communicates very responsibly, is her slip on the promise of vaccination, when she said on December 10 that it would be one of the first, and then she started to back away. “Our leaders will soon be the last in Europe who have not been vaccinated,” said a public relations expert.

According to him, society is used to seeing I. Šimonytė as a politician who keeps his promises, which is why such a situation is surprising.

Mr. Armalis also drew attention to what he said was a long-delayed government communication on vaccination procedures.

“What is happening now is the result of a vaccine communication error. Both the Government and Dustys have chosen a way to participate in vaccine communication when the deadlines for mass vaccination are as clear as possible. (…) Instead of starting to communicate with the first wave, he waited two months because last week more communication began, and during that time he allowed the myths to grow, ”he noted.

At the time, Professor L. Bielinis of the VMU stated that he did not see a big mistake in I. Šimonytė and President Gitanas Nausėda having decided to postpone their vaccination.

“I don’t see a big tragedy here. Probably a large number of doses was thought at first, but as we have seen, the number of doses decreased over time, and public discourse on priorities, rare cases could have an effect. negative in senior officials who are vaccinated, “noted L. Bielinis.

Realizing this, the prime minister and the head of the country postponed their vaccinations.

“The promise at first turned into an understanding that initially those who need it first – doctors, the elderly, and the like – should get vaccinated. High-ranking officials are likely to wait. I think both Šimonytė and Nausėda rejected this vaccine, by realize that it will be misunderstood in society, “said the professor.

Can the reputation of the conservatives suffer in a war with the presidency?

Public relations expert A. Armalis also appreciated the discussion raised by the ruling conservatives about the country’s representation in the European Council (EVS). According to him, Prime Minister I. Šimonytė may eventually lose reputation points at this location.

“One of the two people will suffer. (…) The trust of both cannot grow when there is a conflict between them. In this case, unfortunately, it seems to me that the conflict may have a more negative impact on the Prime Minister than on the President, because the expectations for the Prime Minister are even higher than for the President ”, commented A. Armalis.

However, Mr. Bielinis said that no one was suffering much in this debate.

“Obviously, the president is not suffering at all here, because we have to understand that it is not the conservatives who are trying to blame or demand the president, but only a few more active individual conservatives who are trying to express themselves in this way.” “said the VMU professor.

According to him, the problem in general is artificially inflated.

“This talk about EVS is extremely artificial and has repeatedly slipped into the Šimonytė and Nausėda languages, as well as the speeches of many specialists in general, which is really a matter of agreement between the Prime Minister and the President, and nothing This is a completely artificial problem, which is being intensified by people who need to show themselves in some way or be in front of everyone, “added L. Bielinis.

Without talking about who should really represent the state on EVS, conservatives are taking the initiative to regulate the issue by law. According to experts, such a move could generate a conflict between the ruler and the presidency.