"No one is to blame in this scandal but the president who, as head of state, has huge responsibility. Naturally, it was difficult for her to admit that she was wrong by supporting Palaitis, but she had to do it. By dismissing Palaitis she would have cooled the public flare down and would have had the opportunity to ease tensions in the government," Girnius told BNS on Monday.
Commenting on Parliament Speaker Irena Degutienė's statement that early general elections should be held in the summer, Girnius said the proposal would need backing of other conservative leaders.
"At this point, the main question is whether Degutienė's statement represents the moderate conservative opinion, if the party, the prime minister and other influential party members support her. Or is it only a way to express her deep dissatisfaction at the president's decision," Girnius said.
The political scientist believes the liberal ruling partners are unlikely to back the idea of early election. Based on one of the ways to hold early general elections, three fifths, or 85 out of 141 members in the parliament, have to back the idea.
"The opposition parties would be in favor as they would win more seats now than they would later. They could say the incumbent government showed that it was not capable of working. But there's another opportunity. Since the majority of people feel the Financial Crime Investigation Service chiefs were wrongly dismissed, and that the conservatives are protecting the right thing, and if opinion polls showed that the conservatives' popularity has suddenly increased, in that case the opposition parties might abstain," the expert said.
Girnius also sees a contradiction in Degutienė's statement.
"There are two questions. Firstly, there's a contradiction. If important work has to be done during this session, and early elections are announced, then none of the laws will be passed, and the parliamentary work will be halted. I do understand the conservatives' huge disappointment, but will they be determined not only to propose this move but also try to implement it, as it would most likely bury their hopes to adopt important energy laws," he said.
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius submitted a proposal to the president to sack the interior minister, saying he had made a mistake by firing two top officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service.
Palaitis dismissed the two top leaders of the Financial Crime Investigation Service, Vitalijus Gailius and Vytautas Giržadas, on 15 February, after a recommendation from the State Security Department. The department was investigating possible leak of information about Snoras bank shortly before its nationalization.
The parliamentary Anti-Corruption Commission also carried out an investigation into the move and ruled that the minister could have had personal or party reasons to have Gailius and Giržadas out of the service. Palaitis has denied the suspicions.
