Leader of the Lithuanian Labour Party Victor Uspaskich, Lithuanian businessman of Russian origin, is interviewed at a news conference
Photo: Vladas Lyubartas
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Combined Interests Make Uspaskich Resign
// Resignation
Lithuanian Economy Minister Viktor Uspaskich resigned last week. He thus expressed his disagreement with the conclusions made by Lithuania's chief commission on official ethics that claimed Mr. Uspaskich violated a provision of the law on combining public and private interests. Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Brazauskas is expected to accept Viktor Uspaskich’s resignation today. The Russian-born businessman is determined to contest the commission's conclusions.
The resignation of Viktor Uspaskich, head of the Lithuanian Labour Party, was long-awaited. After the party won the Euro parliament and Seimas election in October 2004, the country started claiming that the tycoon from a Russian podunk town, who made a fortune selling Russian gas, could not be allowed to gain power. Enormous success of his party, which mustered 51 of 141 seats in the Seimas, caused concerns that Lithuania may find itself under Moscow’s influence again. Being a full-fledged member of the EU and NATO, the country still depends on the supplies of Russian gas. It sickened the parties that were left in minority that a non-native Lithuanian, an “immigrant” became the country’s economy minister. The man who once arrived to the country “being taken on” to build a gas pipeline, the man who became the country’s citizen by the notorious “zero variant” (it stipulates granting citizenship to all those living in Lithuania’s territory at the moment of the declaration of independence).
It is no surprising that as soon as Viktor Uspaskich gained the seat of economy minister, according to the conditions of the coalition agreement, one could wait the obloquy of the Labour Party’s leader to appear. What is more, it is his ministry that controls the distribution of the EU’s structure funds, which is a real plum. Mr. Uspaskich was accused of virtually everything: his jokes are flat, he drinks vodka with tinned cukes made at his own factory, he sings Russian songs, accompanies himself on the bayan, and so on. A great scandal was created blaming Viktor Uspaskich of using a fake BA degree diploma.
However, the economy minister stepped down due to other reasons. The chief commission on official ethics accused him of violating the law on combining public and private interests. The commission established that basing the interest of his business, Mr. Uspaskich took advantage of his post and powers to suggest setting up a joint venture with the Moscow government without coordinating it with the Lithuanian government and Vilnius City Hall. Besides, he did it in favor of his wife's agricultural company Krekenavos agriforma, which violated a provision of the law on combining public and private interests. The commission received a memordum signed by a member of the Moscow government that proved the fact. However, the Moscow government’s official representative in Baltic states Alexander Mizgar flatly denies the existence of this document. Rumors immediately spread in Lithuania saying it was Viktor Uspaskich who asked Moscow to refute the presence of the paper. As a result the economy minister informed prime minister Algirdas Brazauskas, who was at the EU summit in Brussels, of his decision to resign last Friday. The head of the government is expected to accept the request today.
Analysts believe that the withdrawal of the popular Labour Party’s leader (which is widely seen as the “party of one man”) may entail a collapse of the ruling coalition, the resignation of the government and a major politic crisis in the country. All the more, shortly before the event, members of the Labour Party were warned that if Viktor Uspaskich resign, their party that holds five out of thirteen seats in the government will leave the ruling coalition.
The Seimas’ chairman Arturas Paulauskas is convinced, though, that it will not happen. “The Labour Party must stay and it must gather all its energy. Its faction in the Seimas is hard working, its representatives hold important posts, including vice-chairman of the Seimas. They work efficiently in parliamentary committees and as ministers too,” he said. He supposes that the resignation of Uspaskich will not lead to early parliamentary election as “there are no Seimas members who could vote for the dissolution of the parliament and early election”. “So, like it or not, but we will have to work, which is not the worst option,” the speaker concluded.
Vladimir Vodo, Vilnius
All the Article in Russian as of June 20, 2005
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