The presidential election showed the ceiling of the Conservatives
The defeat of Prime Minister Šimonytė in the presidential elections shows a particular ceiling at which the Conservative Party is currently, says political analyst Ignas Kalpokas.
„What could have been predicted has happened,“ Kalpokas told Elta.
„If, in the current situation, after four tough years in power, someone offered the Conservatives the same percentages in the Seimas elections in a multi-member parliamentary seat that Šimonytė got, I do not doubt that they would happily take it and not even ask questions,“ he added.
According to the political analyst, after President Nausėda’s victory, attempts will likely be made to further highlight the problems of the current Government.
„This election result allows Nausėda to use some symbolic power against the Government and its leader. The Government will have to return its mandate, and we can expect a certain power contest „, said Kalpokas.
„Already in recent weeks, we can see that not only the Social Democrats are supporting Nausėda, but also Nausėda is quite active in the Seimas election campaign on the side of the Social Democratic Party. He pointed out that this will certainly impact his relations with his still main rival – the Conservative majority in the Seimas and the government“.
Presidential polls send a signal to the Conservatives: the electorate is not so loyal
Political analyst Rima Urbonaitė also believes that the results of the presidential election are a signal to the Conservatives who delegated Šimonytė.
„It is a big indication for the Conservatives. Conservative voters are not as loyal as they had hoped. Šimonytė has lost a lot of support. The loss of votes is clear, and the vote against Šimonytė is even stronger than it was in 2019, which is probably due to her premiership in a rather difficult period and not necessarily, in the opinion of the voters, a rather successful premiership,“ the political analyst told Elta, adding that the ruling party, which currently has the largest group, is facing tough European Parliament and Seimas elections.
„There are many challenges, not in the European Parliament elections, but in the Seimas elections, where the battles will be completely different, and it is only natural that the Conservatives might have a tough time. All the more so because there will be an additional player in these parliamentary elections that was not there before – the President; he is already actively involved in the Seimas election campaign,“ said the Mykolas Romeris University political scientist.
For her part, Urbonaitė continued, it is too early to talk about further relations between the Conservatives and the President. It is difficult to say whether the President will continue pressuring the Prime Minister to replace some government ministers.
„I think the President has tried to mobilise his electorate, considering that the government has one of the lowest ratings in its ratings. Time will tell whether he will go further. Because there are risks in her move because the President's powers are not unlimited“, Urbonatė concluded.
Jurkynas: this shows the remarkable unpopularity of Conservatives
For his part, political analyst Mindaugas Jurkynas believes that the „smashing“ result shows that the Conservatives are very unpopular.
„This is a resounding victory. It shows the great unpopularity of the Conservatives and not only the President's popularity,“ Jurkynas told Elta on election night.
According to him, Nausėda's re-election in the October Seimas elections will hurt the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.
„In any case, the percentage is higher than five years ago. For the Conservatives, this is a clear result of evaluating their political work. By the time of the Seimas elections, he explained, presidential victory would certainly not favour the Conservatives“.
ELTA recalls that the second round of the presidential elections took place on Sunday, where, as five years ago, the country's leader Gitanas Nausėda, who is seeking re-election, and the Conservative candidate, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, met.
With almost all the votes counted in the second round of the presidential election, Gitanas Nausėda, seeking re-election, is the clear leader.
According to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) data, Nausėda has 74.58% of the votes in 1,888 out of 1,895 polling stations. His opponent, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, has received 23.92% of the vote.
According to the VRK data, Nausėda is leading in all Lithuanian municipalities.
49.61% of citizens went to the polls to cast their vote in the election of the Head of State.
