Lithuanian Leader’s Power Play Roils Politics Ahead of Election

Milda Seputyte
·3-min read

(Bloomberg) -- A decision by Lithuania’s president to block the ruling party’s candidate for the European Commission may shake up the Baltic nation’s campaign season just two months before a vote expected to bring down the government.

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President Gitanas Nauseda halted Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis’s bid for the post representing the country on the European Union’s executive arm over the weekend, forcing Lithuania’s top diplomat — who leads the ruling Homeland Union party — to withdraw. The party will now put forward a former prime minister, Andrius Kubilius.

The standoff is a blow to a conservative party that’s trailing in polls only eight weeks before the first round is set to be held Oct. 13. For his part, Nauseda has openly expressed his alignment with the opposition Social Democrats, which supported his election to a second term as president.

The head of state’s power play was the culmination of months of public clashes with Landsbergis over who controls foreign policy in the nation of 2.8 million. Landsbergis, 42, hails from one of the most prominent families in Lithuanian politics and has clashed repeatedly with the 60-year-old president.

Nauseda issued the block despite strong support for Landsbergis from party leaders including Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and EU peers in Brussels, according to an official familiar with the showdown who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In response to a query over the standoff, Nauseda’s office said the president and premier had considered an “extensive list” of potential candidates, but didn’t focus “on any single specific name.” The president and the government reached an agreement on Kubilius, his office said in a statement.

The turmoil comes at a sensitive political moment, with Homeland Union trailing — with less than 10% — both the Social Democrats, who have 18% support, and the center-left Union of Democrats “For Lithuania,” with 11%, according to a Baltijos Tyrimai poll published last month.

Not a Notary

Nauseda secured a second term in a landslide victory in May. The president, who has said he backs the Social Democrats’ ambitions to strengthen the welfare state, has said he expects his relationship with the next government will be more productive.

Nauseda has sought to redefine his role since reelection, saying that the president must not be “a notary” and that he won’t sign off on every government proposal. He’s sought to replace two cabinet ministers despite objections from the head of government.

Much of the dispute over the commission nomination is down to personal enmity between Nauseda and Landsbergis, who’ve been at loggerheads for months. The two have a history of public clashes over policy towards China, Russia and even Foreign Ministry personnel dating to the start of the government in 2020.

Nauseda has upbraided Landsbergis also for escalating a dispute with China over the establishment of a trade office for Taiwan in Vilnius. He also admonished Landsbergis to “calm down” after the minister’s calls to prepare to face off any potential threats from the Kremlin.

The president’s decision deprives the commission of a Baltic politician who has built a reputation in Brussels as an outspoken NATO hawk. Landsbergis’s candidacy was also embraced by the European Parliament’s conservative faction, including European People’s Party President Manfred Weber, according to the official. The government will still seek a foreign and security policy related portfolio, the official added.

Kubilius is also a strong Ukraine advocate and European Parliament member. Twice a prime minister, he led the country through the global financial crisis on an agenda of painful austerity measures.

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