„One may ask (and they do), so what will you do now, Šimonytė, when the candidates include three ministers of the Government you headed? Aha, check and mate. After all, if they were all suitable for your Government, then presumably, they are all suitable for party chairmanship. And what can I say? I chose all three of them myself, I trusted them, and I think they did a good job in our work together in the Government,“ Šimonytė wrote on her Facebook account on Friday.
„Respecting all the candidates, but being able to choose only one, I choose Radvilė (Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė – ELTA). I invite those who think similarly to me to participate,“ she wrote.
According to Šimonytė, Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė „has been in the TS-LKD community practically since birth and has never been anywhere else“.
„She knows and is known by both the grey and the young. From her young days on the right side of history and in active work – for our future in the European Union, for our brothers fighting for their freedom, for the Baltic Sea, against Putin's invasions, annexations with tanks and Lukoil. To the responsibility for the largest TS-LKD group in the Seimas, which has managed to work without distraction and in unity throughout the whole of the difficult term of office, regardless of the differences of opinion on individual issues,“ wrote Šimonytė.
She also noted that Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė had to deal with uncomfortable issues and complex challenges during her time in party ranks and politics.
„Radvilė, like me, has had less comfortable responsibilities in her life – where you sometimes have to apologise for decisions or actions made by other people, but the responsibility is demanded of you, where you have to bring together different points of view, where the spectrum of problems is much wider and the support naturally less. And I have seen how Radvilė has carried this responsibility without being resentful, never blaming others, aware of her responsibility and the expectations placed on her,“ the MP said, explaining why she would vote for her party colleague.
The party doesn't need some other direction – especially towards arrogance, radicalism and hatred
Speaking about the party's general direction, the politician hoped that the TS-LKD would avoid, in her words, Vadism and maintain the strength of internal democracy and diversity. She also drew attention to public calls for the party to „purify itself“ and „return to lost values.“
„If you talk to such purgers for a while (...), you realise that the whole point of 'purity' is just an attitude towards human rights, and even, very specifically, towards partnership or the Istanbul Convention. These are important issues, but they are only part of the issues, and in no way determine anyone's 'purity', which is very low in general,“ wrote the former Prime Minister
„I believe that the party should remain in the direction of the European People's Party – the moderate centre-right. We can achieve the best results by working together in European formats with the German CDU/CSU, the Swedish Moderates, and other comrades with whom we must strengthen the European Union. The party does not need some other direction, especially not the direction of arrogance, radicalism or hatred, into which our opponents and some external influencers sometimes so sincerely try to push us. Let those who feel at home there be there“, she said.
ELTA recalls that after the unsuccessful elections, the TS-LKD will elect a new Chairperson in February following Gabrielius Landsbergis's resignation from the party leader post.
Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, the current interim chair of the party, Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Arvydas Anušauskas, former Ministers of National Defence, Žygimantas Pavilionis, Member of the Seimas, and Daivaras Rybakovovas, the chair of the party's Jurbarkas branch, have decided to run for election.
Ingrida Šimonytė, the former Prime Minister who received the most support from 69 Conservative chapters, announced that she would not compete for the post of party leader. Therefore, Kasčiūnas is considered the favourite in the TS-LKD elections, having been nominated by 65 party chapters. On Monday, Pavilionis encouraged to support Kasčiūnas as well.
The first round of the TS-LKD leaders election will take place on 9 February 2025, with online voting from 4 to 5 February 2025. The second round, if necessary, will take place on 23 February 2025, with online voting from 18 to 19 February 2025.
