– The president sent a clear message that the Labour Party cannot be part of the ruling coalition and named her reasons. What are potential future scenarios following the president's statement?
– First of all, we all have to agree and realize one thing, that we are at the very early stage of forming a government. These are the first steps, and at today's meetings with political party leaders who won the majority of seats in the parliament, the president expressed her position on and attitude to the formation of a future government.
And she voiced her opinion that she would not support a coalition with a party which has a shadow hanging over it. (…) The position was expressed without saying what way should be taken as, in fact, that should be in the hands of those people who will form a future government. And currently we have seven political parties in the Seimas, and the Labour Party has only 30 seats in the 141-seat parliament. All other configurations are possible, could be negotiated with the political leaders who met with the president.
– What are the chances of a "rainbow" coalition?
– The president believes we should not get stuck on the rainbow coalition idea only. We should look into all possible scenarios. focusing not only on mathematical-arithmetical principles but also in terms of values the president mentioned at the press conference following the meeting with the Social Democratic leader.
– Is the president still of the opinion that "a rainbow is a fragile phenomenon in both nature and politics"?
– The president is not pushing some specific political parties into forming a "rainbow" or any other political configuration, and political parties themselves should decide whether they see chances of working with other parties and what specific parties, provided it is not Labour Party.
– Is the possibility of a minority government real? How stable or fragile it could be?
– As for a minority government, the answer is short and simple. It would be too early to talk about a minority government until all chances of forming a majority government are exhausted. (…) One should not put arithmetical configurations in the first place as values and work for the public interest is the most important thing.
– And what if the president's position is ignored and the parties still push forward with a coalition including the Labour Party. How categorical the president's position will be?
– I would suggest against rushing and driving ourselves into a corner, as the Social Democratic leader said. The parties' management should make various adjustments, and various questions about certain possibilities are still too early.
