Latest news with #Ruginiene
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Lithuania's social affairs minister nominated as head of government
dpa Riga Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has nominated the country's current Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, Inga Ruginiene, as prime minister and tasked her with forming a government. The 44-year-old Social Democrat's candidacy must now be approved by parliament. She will then be able to form her Cabinet, which will then face another vote in parliament. Ruginiene was proposed by her party as the successor to Gintautas Paluckas, who resigned in early August following allegations of dubious business dealings and conflicts of interest. She was first elected to parliament last autumn and then appointed minister of social affairs and labour. Prior to that, she had been the chair of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation for six years. Critics accuse Ruginiene of lacking political experience. However, more questions have been raised about her relatives living in Russia and her frequent visits to that country. By her own account she continued to travel to Russia even after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Another part of her family comes from Ukraine, where she also spent her summers as a child, she said. That is why she spent a lot of time in a Russian-speaking environment as a child - and therefore may not speak perfect Lithuanian. Nauseda said on Thursday that the information available so far gives reason to believe that Ruginiene will 'successfully perform' the duties of head of government. However, there are certain details in her biography that require 'more attention,' he told a Lithuanian broadcaster. It is still unclear whether the Social Democrats and Ruginiene will continue the centre-left three-party coalition that has ruled Lithuania until now. Recently, there have been signs that a change in coalition partners might be in prospect.
Euractiv
2 days ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
Lithuania's president taps social democrat MP for PM after corruption shake-up
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Thursday nominated social democrat MP Inga Ruginiene as prime minister, after former government chief Gintautas Paluckas resigned amid an ongoing corruption investigation. "There are certain details in Ms Ruginiene's biography that require closer attention. That is why our first meeting lasted two hours, which is quite unusually long," Nauseda told the country's public broadcaster LRT following his meeting with the nominee. Ruginiene has previously come under criticism for having relatives in Russia, whom she last visited in 2015 and 2018. Ruginiene told reporters that she no longer visits them, adding that she had always supported Ukraine against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of its western neighbour in 2022. The parliament still has to approve Ruginiene as well as her new programme and cabinet. Paluckas's government resigned last week. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) has held consultations with other parties after one of their coalition partners, the centre-left Democrats "For Lithuania", said they could no longer work together with the populist Nemunas Dawn party that is also part of the government. The financial crimes watchdog (FNTT) arrested Paluckas's brother on Thursday and detained four other individuals as part of a probe into businesses linked to the former prime minister. No charges have yet been brought against Paluckas. (mm)
