Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė Resigns as Coalition Government Collapses Amid Antisemitism Controversy]

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė Resigns as Coalition Government Collapses Amid Antisemitism Controversy]

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and her cabinet submitted their resignations on Tuesday following the collapse of the ruling coalition, marking Lithuania’s third leadership change in two years and paving the way for a new government poised to pursue a revised approach toward China.

The government fell apart after the center-left Social Democrats withdrew from their coalition agreement with the populist Nemuno Aušra party. This rupture stems from allegations against Remigijus Žemaitaitis, a former lawmaker from Nemuno Aušra, who faces charges related to antisemitic rhetoric. Žemaitaitis was fined 5,000 euros last year by a Lithuanian court for inciting hatred against Jews and minimizing Nazi crimes, including the Holocaust. His case is currently under appeal, with prosecutors seeking a harsher sentence.

Following Ruginienė’s resignation, President Gitanas Nausėda is expected to ask the outgoing administration to serve in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. The president now has 15 days to designate a prime minister candidate to parliament, with Social Democratic Party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius likely to be nominated.

The new coalition, comprising the Social Democrats and two other center-left parties, holds 75 of the 141 seats in the Seimas parliament. Their agreement signals a shift toward stabilizing relations with Beijing while maintaining Lithuania’s EU and NATO commitments, as well as its strategic partnership with Taiwan. Although the coalition has agreed to reshuffle at least four ministerial positions, broader policy directions are anticipated to remain consistent.

If parliamentary approval is granted, the prime minister-designate will have up to two weeks to present a new government and its program for legislative endorsement.

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