Dr Ainius Laas on Lithuanian parliaments approval of Algirdas Butkevicius as prime minister

Ainius Lašas was quoted in an article in The Independent (23 November) about the appointment of Algirdas Butkevicius as prime minister of Lithuania, and the further implications of this appointment for the government.

Butkevicius is expected to serve in a coalition government including the Labor party, a fact which has created tension between the Cabinet and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, as some Labor politicians are under suspicion of fraud and voting violations. An early sticking point will be whether parliament revokes immunity for three Labor politicians, clearing the way for a criminal case; Ainius noted that “[t]he president might make the revoking of immunity a precondition for her approval of the new government.”

The article can be read in full here.