„I think probably not,“ Motuzas told Žinių Radijas when asked whether Budrys would still be minister while Lithuania holds the EU Council presidency.
Nevertheless, the lawmaker himself said he had no complaints about the current head of Lithuanian diplomacy.
„As committee chair, I certainly cannot voice any complaints about Kęstutis Budrys. (...) He is one of those (ministers—ELTA) who truly communicates and cooperates with members of parliament, is very willing to express his positions, and—since he is not a party member—seems to want the support of both our Social Democratic Party and other parties; he willingly answers all questions, adapts to the meetings, and we really do have a lot of information (from him—ELTA),“ assured the head of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs.
„When meetings take place between foreign ministers of different countries, I can always take pride in the fact that we have such a professional, quick-thinking, forward-looking, democratic minister who understands Lithuania’s place in this complex geopolitical situation,“ said Motuzas.
In his view, the decision to replace the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) falls more within the purview of Social Democratic Party Chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius. However, as Motuzas notes, there has been no discussion within the party about potential new candidates so far.
„This is certainly the prerogative of the party chairman. So far, no candidates have been mentioned—neither in the committee, nor in the parliamentary caucus, nor, let’s say, in our party’s so-called party bodies. (...) Between the party chairman and Budrys, in a sense—as we say in colloquial speech—there’s no chemistry. And in fact, the honourable Sinkevičius probably views Budrys’s work positively, but something is simply missing,“ Motuzas asserted.
However, according to the Social Democrats, no actual problems or shortcomings have been identified regarding how Budrys is performing his duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
„I hear that something isn’t right—that perhaps the minister isn’t one of us, isn’t a member of our party, and so on—but when we try to get to the bottom of it, we don’t get specific answers about what exactly is wrong or what, say, Budrys or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs isn’t doing. I think this is just rhetoric,“ the member of the Seimas asserted.
For some time now, there has been speculation in political circles that the Social Democrats are dissatisfied with Foreign Minister Budrys. Coalition partners have also expressed concerns, claiming that the minister is pursuing his own agenda rather than the government's.
The chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) has also previously stated that he cannot be certain Budrys will remain in his position as foreign minister even after the ruling majority is reshuffled.
For his part, Nausėda says that the foreign minister is doing his job properly and claims he does not understand why questions are being raised about a person whom the vast majority of the public views favourably.