"We are considering leaving the coalition as we do not manage to agree on program provisions while working in this coalition. O see no prospect of working in this coalition," Tomaševski said following Monday's meeting of the Political Council at the Seimas.
"Shortly, we will elect our own political council and make the final decision. I see no prospect of cooperation in this coalition," the LLRA leader said.
Standing beside him, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius said it was unexpected for him. "It's a surprise," he commented.
According to Tomaševski, agreements are not implemented in the ruling coalition. He mentioned the fact that there's still no fourth position of energy vice-minister and talked about fund distribution for state investment programs.
He said the coalition could not agree on certain issues at all but refused to elaborate.
Following the Seimas elections last year, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, the Order and Justice Party, the Labor Party, and the LLRA formed a ruling coalition with 85 seats in the 141-seat Seimas. Without the LLRA, the ruling parties would still have a parliamentary majority of 77 seats.
The LLRA currently has only one minister in the Cabinet, Minister of Energy Jaroslav Neverovič.
PR move?
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has called threats by Tomaševski to withdraw his party from the ruling coalition a PR move.
Butkevičius said he was shocked at such statements after a meeting of the coalition's Political Council.
"Certain comments were made that their certain wishes are not implemented. But I think we could hardly implement those wishes in two months. It's not a concert of requests, and we have the government program and it has to be consistently implemented and executed, and those discussions were a normal working environment at that meeting but after we left the meeting and were giving interviews to journalists, I was slightly shocked at his statement and I believe that it was more of a PR move," the prime minister said in an interview to the Lithuanian Radio on Tuesday.
Butkevičius believes such statements might be related to his visit to Poland on Tuesday.
"I think I might be able to talk to him on the phone today on whether it was his wish as the LLRA leader to express a certain position ahead of my visit to Poland. I believe there are other deeper reasons behind that," Butkevičius said.
