"The reactions showed that politicians currently are, first of all, concerned about the elections. Even the proposal sounded in such a way that the election might be advanced. And the president said in her yesterday's statement very clearly that she would definitely not take part in pre-electoral fights. The president is most concerned about one issue – ensuring continuity of consistent work," Lingė said in an interview for the Žinių Radijas (News Radio).
Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), Irena Degutienė, proposed on Monday to call early general election.
"The president did not form the ruling majority, and the president should not determine its fate," the presidential adviser said.
According to him, following the president's decision, politicians and political scientists had doubts whether she trusted this government. Grybauskaitė has full trust in the government, he said.
"Listening to reactions and interpretations of both politicians and political scientists, one regrets the fact that they are trying to read something into the president's statement she didn’t say, and they are not hearing what she said very clearly. She stressed numerous times that the current government can and should continue working till the end of the term. This definitely shows her trust in the government and the prime minister, and all interpretations to the contrary seem to be attempts to read between the lines (…) to look for what the president did not say," Lingė said.
In his words, the coalition should agree on its further work, and if they fail to do so, then the minister's fate should be determined by political means.
"Traditionally, problems and challenges to the government in Lithuania, the so-called crises, have lead to dismissal or resignation of a minister, or an interpellation procedure. But these are political measures … that should be the last resort, if they fail to find some agreement," the president's adviser said.
On Monday, President Dalia Grybauskaitė rejected Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius' proposal to sack Minister of Interior Affairs Raimundas Palaitis, representing the Liberal and Center Union. "I will not take part in pre-election disputes among coalition partners," the president said, adding that this government should work till the end of the term. Grybauskaitė also expressed support for the ruling coalition on strategic issues.
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 a possible leak of information about Snoras bank shortly before its nationalization.
