Lithuanian parliament backs Ruginiene to form new government
Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of allowing Social Affairs Minister Inga Ruginiene to seek to form a new cabinet, moving her closer to becoming the country’s next prime minister.
The 44-year-old former trade union leader from the ruling Social Democrats entered the cabinet in 2024 but has been pushed into the spotlight after Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned last month over his family’s business ties, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
As lawmakers debated her candidacy, around 2,000 people protested outside parliament against her plan to include the populist National Dawn (Nemunas Dawn) party in the governing coalition.
“I know this will be a very complex job, and I am preparing for it,” Ruginiene told reporters after the vote. She pledged to continue Lithuania’s support for Ukraine and maintain the government’s commitment to spending 5–6% of GDP on defence in the coming years.
Ruginiene still needs President Gitanas Nausėda to approve her cabinet and must win a second vote in parliament in September to confirm its manifesto. Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius is serving as acting prime minister until then.
National Dawn’s leader, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, is currently on trial over social media posts downplaying the Holocaust and allegedly inciting hostility toward Jews. He denies wrongdoing but resigned from parliament earlier this year after the Constitutional Court ruled he had broken his oath.
Ruginiene said her party had few coalition options, but Nausėda has ruled out allowing Zemaitaitis or any other National Dawn members to serve in the cabinet. The centre-right Farmers and Greens Union is also expected to join the coalition.
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