European prime minister resigns after protests over past financial dealings

Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned on Thursday following protests in the country’s capital over investigations into his alleged business dealings. 

“Gintautas Paluckas called me this morning and informed me of his resignation,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters, according to Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT). Nausėda also said Paluckas made the right choice and welcomed the decision.

Nausėda recently gave Paluckas two weeks to decide whether or not to stay in his position.

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“The president has asked the prime minister to either give a reasoned answer to the questions raised by the public in the next two weeks, or to consider seriously his further options as prime minister,” presidential adviser Frederikas Jansonas told reporters on July 24, according to LRT.

The prime minister’s resignation also comes after a smaller party threatened to exit the country’s ruling coalition unless Paluckas stepped down from his position.

After media outlets began publishing investigations into Paluckas’ business and financial dealings, Lithuania’s anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies launched probes of their own, according to the Associated Press. One of the cases against him is more than a decade old. 

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In 2012, Paluckas was convicted of mishandling the bidding process for rat extermination in Vilnius, where he was serving as the director of the city’s municipality administration, the Associated Press reported. However, it has been revealed that he did not pay a chunk of the nearly $20,000 fine.

A more recent scandal involved a €200,000 ($228,777) subsidized loan that Garnis, a company Paluckas co-founded, received after Paluckas was already serving as prime minister, according to LRT. The outlet added that Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission is investigating the loan. 

Garnis was also linked to a more recent scandal involving the prime minister in which Dankora — Paluckas’ sister-in-law’s company — received EU funding and used it to purchase goods from Garnis. However, according to LRT, public outcry pushed Dankora to return the funds.

Paluckas denies any wrongdoing and claims the criticism is part of a “coordinated attack” by his political opponents, according to the Associated Press. 

The prime minister’s resignation puts Lithuania in a precarious position, as it comes just before Russia and Belarus hold joint military exercises. Paluckas’ whole cabinet is expected to resign as well, possibly leaving the Baltic country without a functioning government just weeks ahead of the Russian-Belarusian exercises, according to the Associated Press. However, this may not impact Lithuania’s foreign policy, as Nausėda, who represents the country on a global scale, has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine during its years-long war with Russia.