After commenting last week that Žemaitaitis would not be confirmed as a minister, the Head of State did not comment further on the coalition's composition. Although journalists are calling on the President to comment on the situation, Nausėda will only give his opinion on Monday evening and during the TV show.
Asta Skaisgirytė, the President's adviser, said on Sunday on LRT television that the President's Office had expected a different kind of coalition and pointed out that a new criterion of anti-Semitism would be introduced for the approval of cabinet members.
„When a potential Prime Minister brings a list of ministers with party affiliation to the President, the President will look very carefully at the candidacies of all ministers. (...) The anti-Semitic criterion will also be introduced,“ Skaisgirytė said.
However, this statement surprised former presidential advisor Aistis Zabarauskas, who also highlighted Nausėda's complete silence on the issue of coalition formation.
„Removing anti-Semites from the ruling majority who have flagrantly violated the Constitution and broken their oath of office is not a board game called Battle of the Ships, where one shoot blind. So, it is certainly not necessary to check all future ministers to see who is a possible anti-Semite.
The person who has broken the supreme law of the land is straightforward, the party that has not disassociated and expelled him is clear, and the political force that has invited him into the coalition and is covering for him is also apparent. So, where to look is quite obvious.
All that is needed is to be conscientious and timely, as there is now a 48-hour delay in the statement of position, and the former Presidents must have their say so that the public does not feel that it is without a leader in a challenging situation,“ he wrote on Facebook.
Unlike Nausėda, outgoing President Dalia Grybauskaitė expressed her opinion on the emerging coalition on Monday morning, calling on the Social Democrats to get a grip.
„I call on the Social Democrats to wake up. I have always seen the Social Democratic Party as a party of basically responsible politicians. Unfortunately, I cannot see the coalition that is currently being formed as anything other than a coalition of Kremlin stink with a hint of fascist brownshirts,“ Grybauskaitė wrote on Facebook on Monday.
The former President asked rhetorically whether the Social Democrats would agree to be involved in such a trap of power formation.
„Such a coalition is already causing irreparable reputational damage in the eyes of our EU and NATO partners. The interests of the state and the security of Lithuania in the current geopolitical environment must be the main arguments for forming a governing coalition.
And there are several choices. Don't turn your impressive electoral victory into ashes before you start working,“ Grybauskaitė advised.