Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned on Thursday amid growing pressure over investigations into his business dealings, which sparked public protests in the capital demanding he step down.
Paluckas, a member of the Social Democratic Party, took office late last year after helping to form a three-party coalition government following . President announced Paluckas’s resignation to the media on Thursday morning, with Paluckas later explaining his reasons.
What did Paluckas say?
“I informed the president about an hour ago that I took the decision to resign from my duties as the prime minister,” Paluckas said in a statement, adding that he would also leave his post as the head of the Social Democratic party.
“Despite my decision to leave my current duties, I will continue to defend my honour and dignity and I’m waiting for the conclusions of the investigations, which I’m sure will separate the facts from insinuations,” he said.
What is Lithuania’s PM accused of?
Several news outlets published reports in July detailing alleged misconduct linked to both past and current ventures by Paluckas. The revelations prompted anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to launch formal investigations.
In a major blow to his credibility, it emerged that Paluckas never paid a large part of a €16,500 ($19,039) fine tied to a case known as the “rat poison scandal.”
He was convicted in 2012 of abusing his position while overseeing Vilnius’ rat extermination contract bids. Lithuania’s top court found that he had illegally favored the highest bidder. Although sentenced to two years in prison, the term was suspended and he was never jailed.
Paluckas, leader of the Social Democratic Party, has denied wrongdoing in his business affairs and called the scrutiny a “coordinated attack” by political rivals.
He resigned before opposition lawmakers could initiate impeachment proceedings.
Earlier on Thursday, Lithuania’s Financial Crimes Investigation Service searched the offices of Dankora, a company owned by the sister-in-law of outgoing Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, local media reported.
Dankora allegedly used EU funds to buy battery systems from Garnis, a company partly owned by Paluckas himself.
The search follows earlier reporting from Lithuanian investigative journalists, who revealed in May that Garnis had also received a subsidized state loan while Paluckas was already serving as prime minister.
What happens next?
Lithuania’s entire cabinet is now expected to step down following Paluckas’s resignation, raising concerns of a leadership gap just weeks before Russia begins joint military exercises with Belarus.
Coalition talks to form a new cabinet are expected to begin shortly.
Despite the shakeup, the country’s foreign policy is not expected to shift. President Nauseda, elected independently, remains Lithuania’s key voice on the global stage and has been one of Ukraine’s strongest backers in its .
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
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