Asked by journalists whether a candidate for minister of culture could be selected from a list submitted by representatives of the culture industry, Butkevičius, who has already rejected several candidates suggested by the Labour Party, said the list contains many people who would be able to lead the Ministry of Culture.
But he himself mentioned only one candidate from the list and it was Marčiulionytė.
"I think there are many suitable candidates there, and, for example, I had a chance to work with Ms. Marčiulionytė who is also among the candidates, and I would be very much in favor of her," Butkevčus said.
Marčiulionytė is Lithuania's former ambassador to UNESCO and is currently working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as ambassador-at-large.
Butkevičius also added that he had not consulted with the Labour Party on this candidate.
"We haven’t spoken yet," he said when asked if he discussed Marčiulionytė with Labour leader Viktor Uspaskich.
Butkevičius has already rejected several Labour candidates for minister of culture. He confirmed on Thursday he had also rejected writer and journalist Giedrius Drukteinis. Earlier, the prime minister-designate rejected candidacies of actor Juozas Gaižauskas and events organizer Tadas Rimdžius.
Butkevičius also expressed anger on Thursday over the Labour Party's delay to submit candidates and he said the Social Democrats were ready to nominate their own candidates if the Labour Party failed to find suitable people.
"It's no longer funny, it angers me," he said. "If need be, we might delegate several of our own," Butkevičius added.
The prime minister-designate has also confirmed he has not officially submitted the candidacy of Virgilijus Jukna, a member of the Labour Party and professor at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, for minister of agriculture.
He favored the candidate. "Mr. Jukna is a scientist and, as far as I know, the scientific community thinks rather highly of him. And sometimes you don't need a person with a lot of working experience or knowledge of Brussels corridors. But there are certain challenges that might also be handled by newcomers from the close sector," ButkeviČius said.
"My official document is still in the drawer. (…) It's a matter of time," Butkevičius said about Jukna's candidacy.
