Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday, August 26, confirmed Inga Ruginiene as prime minister following the collapse of the previous government in July over a corruption scandal.
Ruginiene, who was social security minister in the old government, has vowed to continue supporting Ukraine and invest in the country's defence while seeking to reduce inequalities. But several thousand people staged a demonstration against the new government, with organizers accusing it of including politicians who oppose sanctions against Russia and Belarus as well as anti-vaccine campaigners.
Ruginiene, a 44-year-old former trade union leader who is from the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party LSDP, the biggest in the ruling coalition, now has 15 days to put her cabinet and government programme to a vote. "My biggest dream is to stand in front of you again at the end of my mandate and to say that we have been able to accomplish very important work," Ruginiene, who was only elected as a lawmaker last year, told parliament.
Former Social Democrat prime minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned on August 1 amid an investigation into several companies he was linked with.
The current coalition, led by the LSDP, includes the populist Nemunas Dawn party, the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families, and independent lawmakers.
The center-left Democrats "For Lithuania" has withdrawn saying it could not work with Nemunas Dawn, whose leader Remigijus Zemaitaitis gave up his parliament seat in 2023 over controversy about alleged antisemitic comments but was reelected last year.
President Gitanas Nauseda has backed the new government but told a Lithuanian radio station on Tuesday that including Nemunas Dawn was "a mistake that was difficult to avoid." Waldemar Tomaszewski, head of the Polish-Christian alliance and a European parliament member, was accused of supporting the Kremlin, but denied the allegations.
One of the independent deputies, Ignas Vegele, made headlines by campaigning against restrictions imposed during the Coronavirus pandemic. He came third in Lithuania's presidential election last year when he vowed to oppose "LGBTQ propaganda."