Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08VILNIUS182
2008-03-28 14:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vilnius
Cable title:  

LITHUANIA'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER RESIGNS; PM ALSO

Tags:  PGOV LH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVL #0182 0881443
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281443Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY VILNIUS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2109
C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000182 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV LH
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER RESIGNS; PM ALSO
UNDER FIRE

Classified By: Ambassador Cloud for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000182

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV LH
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER RESIGNS; PM ALSO
UNDER FIRE

Classified By: Ambassador Cloud for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY. Lithuania's Speaker of the Parliament
announced his resignation on March 26 after he was caught on
videotape apparently paying a bribe to a county official to
facilitate his brother-in-law's real estate deal. Muntianas
denies any wrongdoing and alleges he was framed by political
rivals. Prime Minister Kirkilas is also under fire, in large
part because of the poor public opinion poll numbers for his
Social Democratic Party in the run up to October
parliamentary elections. END SUMMARY.

Speaker Reluctantly Resigned
--------------


2. (SBU) Viktoras Muntianas, Speaker of the Parliament since
2006, announced on March 26 that he will resign. His formal
resignation will take place at the next meeting of
Parliament, April 1. He will also leave his post as the head
of the coalition member Civil Democracy party. Muntianas
will retain his MP status. He has not been formally
indicted.


3. (SBU) The Civil Democracy party was weak before the
scandal and may not win any seats in the upcoming October
elections. The party was created in May 2006, as a spin-off
of the Labor party. Muntianas claims that the head of the
Labor party, Viktor Uspaskich, had a hand in his downfall.
Muntianas believes that Uspaskich's Labor party wants revenge
for Muntianas's role in splitting up the Labor party in 2006.


Prime Minister Under Fire
--------------


4. (C) As the Social Democratic Party has fallen to fourth
place in public opinion polls, Prime Minister Gediminas
Kirkilas has been increasingly under fire. Kirkilas
succeeded in January in establishing a majority government
after spending eighteen months as prime minister of a
fractious minority. Kirkilas has been criticized as being
ineffective -- unable to say 'no' to members of his coalition
and unable to move forward any meaningful Government
programs. In addition, Kirkilas has not succeeded in gaining
preeminence within his own party from now retired long-term
party leader Algirdas Brazauskas.


5. (SBU) On March 18, 58 MPs called for an interpellation
(i.e., essentially a potential vote of no confidence) of the
PM. The interpellation calls on the PM to answer 19
questions, many focused on the establishment of a "national
investor" that will operate Lithuania,s electrical energy
sector, including developing a new nuclear power plant in
Lithuania. The PM is required to respond to the questions by
April 1. After his response, the Parliament will have five
days to review his answers and can then call for a vote on
whether to dismiss the PM, requiring a simple majority of 71
MPs. Most observers predict Kirkilas will survive the vote
but will remain under fire.
CLOUD