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Coronary crisis. G. Nausėda was elected president at quiet times as a meeting, not as a divisive intellectual leader. During the coronavirus crisis, the President made no clear mistakes, but did not become a leader around whom people would gather in decision-making, had little prominence in leadership positions, and some of the public had doubts about his leadership. . The president’s attitude was determined for two objective reasons: constitutional powers lower than personal expectations and personal qualities, and having no political or leadership experience, he came to office without being prepared to be a leader in crisis. Inevitably, her comparison to Dalia Grybauskaitė, chosen both times during the crisis, began during the economic downturn in 2009 and shortly after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. However, the ratings will change more than once again, so to speak of a one-term president is too soon.
REGIONS. G.Nausėda turned to the regions. Regular business travel in Lithuania is an important first step in fulfilling electoral promises to reduce exclusion. Changing attitudes by setting a personal example creates the ground for more work, and for the second year in a row, the president can make a fundamental change to improve children’s education in rural areas. It will be important to check if this becomes a priority in relations with the new Seimas and if the president and the team keep up.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Gitanas Nausėda
SEIMAS The President and his team learned the basic concepts of internal politics. An alarm bell rang in the Presidency in mid-November, when Seimas rejected the president’s second veto. The presidency was dissolved and G. Nausėda won all the remaining vetoes, including the votes on the Seimas electoral cartel and price regulation. The current 8: 2 veto score in favor of the President shows that he is doing his job well on the brake and counterbalance system. Succeeding in setting your schedule is more difficult. The president is active in making proposals, but the results are mediocre: less than half of his initiatives have been adopted and important proposals to change the tax system have been rejected. The fate of the transformation of the public procurement system that is maturing since the beginning of the mandate will be decisive proof of how much the president can impose his agenda on the ruling coalition.
EXPLORATIONS G.Nausėda is proudly proud of the intelligence exchange with Russia. He returned to two Lithuanian citizens and a Norwegian home, which D. Grybauskaitė did not do. The negotiations, in which the Americans also participated, took place at the highest level, and G. Nausėda proved by his decision that Lithuanian citizens are not just statistical units for the state. But the process was not as easy as G. Nausėda presents. Many still shrug at the reason the president has swayed and said he may be accused of favoring the Russians. To be sure, he made a decisive decision only after the Seimas adopted the dubious amendments to the Penal Code.
COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW. G. Nausėda started working since the dismissal of judges suspected of corruption. It was a popular movement, but so far it has certainly dissipated that it did not exceed its mandate. On the anniversary day, there is still no clear way for the president to deal with confusion over unnamed judges. The public expects high moral standards from the president, so his ratings have been driven by an emphasis on the value position in Jaroslav Narkevich’s story, despite the misleading admiration of “20 Pole employees” when the president misinterpreted the material provided by STT. G. Nausėda may become the chairman of transparency, but is still testing the limits of how much he can resist the tendencies to politicize the management of state-owned companies, critics lack an open conversation about the risks of corruption by establishing a state bank, and allocate billions of coronavirus crisis fund investments.
The cases in which the president publicly announced uncoordinated negotiating positions, which he later failed to defend, also added no weight.
The STT plays a key role in shaping the president’s position on anti-corruption issues, and SSD initiatives often receive automatic approval. Coordinated work is important to national security, but at the same time the question arises as to whether the President will be able to continue to be demanding enough with intelligence and law enforcement services and to pay due attention to human rights in his efforts. for strengthening their influence.
DIPLOMACY. The most significant changes are the renewed political dialogue with Belarus and the increased focus on economic diplomacy. The highlights are logically justified, but quick results aren’t worth waiting for. You can not see clear in the “red lines” drawn by G. Nausėda for Belarus – Astrava and human rights. In appointing ambassadors, no cases have been heard so far where the criteria for choosing a president is the number of investors or the volume of trade. Whispering that attitude is most often determined by competition for influence with the Government and the actual or supposed proximity of diplomats to D. Grybauskaitė. The center of power in the formulation of foreign policy was slightly withdrawn from the Presidency to the Government, but this was due not only to the activities of the President himself, but also to the increased attention of Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis in this area. On strategic issues, the president understands his responsibility as commander of the armed forces, as evidenced by his personal commitment to defending the defense budget and his firm stance on Russia.
COMMUNICATION. The President has been giving many interviews lately, which could devalue the head of state’s word. The cases in which the president publicly announced uncoordinated negotiating positions, which he later failed to defend, also added no weight. In trying to set limits on the composition of the new government, politicians will remember the President’s acknowledgment that he succumbed to the threats of Tomaševskis by J. Narcevičius, although he publicly defended Rokas Masiulis. The President’s public appeals to the European Commissioner of Lithuania to appoint a woman or to instruct the former European Commissioner of Latvia to take care of the synchronization of the Baltic electricity networks. The president generally speaks solidly in public, but there have been mistakes, such as a CNN broadcast to allow Russia to occupy Lithuania in three to four weeks, or a confusing statement that parents with young children have no place in the presidency.
VALUES. G. Nausėda highlighted his conservative Christian values. Calls for more attention to be paid to the preservation of Lithuanian historical memory, culture and language, warns of the threat to Lithuania posed by the temptations of globalism and shows more attention to the Church. The president does not support the Istanbul Convention, which is criticized by the Church for the concept of gender, he does not want Polish letters in his passport, he does not promise to lead LGBT rights. Liberal critics don’t like this, but the president is consistent on these issues and does not follow the Polish example, where nationalism, history, and human rights have become a cheap accent on internal political confrontation. The decision on Lukiškės Square will show how the President will combine a personal conservative approach and the duty to protect the rule of law from chaotic legislation.
The president’s job is a marathon, not a sprint.
EQUIPMENT. Forming a team and leading it for the president was a new experience, and here he did not avoid mistakes. Even before the inauguration, people familiar with the defense shook their heads that neither the President nor the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Vytautas Jonas Žukas, understood what the obligations of a national security adviser meant. But in the beginning, it was more important for the president to bring together famous people to boast of “the strongest team during the presidency of all presidents.” A good general did not become a good adviser, and mistakes in the president’s leadership or wrong skills also contributed to the resignation of some of the other advisers. The First Lady, who has considerable influence on the President, has been looking for her role for quite some time. However, the curve is slowly increasing, and in the second half of the year, there was already less chaos in decision-making, initiative and project management procedures than when the president visited London.
In short, the President understands his responsibilities, performs his constitutional duties, and adequately represents Lithuania, but after the first “warm-up,” now is a good time to review strategic objectives and streamline processes to achieve them more effectively. The president’s job is a marathon, not a sprint. The advice of President Adamkus, who has reached the heights of the sport in his youth, to redistribute his forces with greater precision remains relevant.
Vaidotas Beniušis is the editor in chief of the BNS news agency.
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