"Butkevičius promised to vote in support of lifting the immunity and that was one of the preconditions before proposition of his candidacy for prime minister to parliament," Lingė said in an interview to Žinių Radijas news radio on Tuesday.
Butkevičius has said that the Social Democrats would do anything to make sure that the termination of legal immunity of Labour Party leader Viktor Uspaskich and two other party members – Parliamentary First Vice-Speaker Vytautas Gapšys and group member Vitalija Vonzutaitė – was voted in an open rather than secret ballot.
Lingė said this was a "positive sign."
"It is important that everything in lifting of legal immunity is transparent and responsible. Lack of transparency would be signaled by, for example, choice of a secret ballot. (...) Evasion of voting would show lack of responsibility," the adviser said.
In his words, the appointment of Gapšys as parliamentary vice-speaker will not contribute to the cooperation between the president and parliament.
"This decision brings no honor to the Seimas. If matters of principle are trampled upon from the very beginning or even the start of actual work, to be exact, one can have reasonable doubts about credibility and successful cooperation in the future. The responsibility falls upon the largest coalition partner – the Social Democratic Party," Lingė said.
In his words, the "efforts to preserve the immunity" is a dangerous signal for public confidence in courts, justice, legal and political system.
