VILNIUS - The press reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas has rejected an offer by MP Viktor Uspaskich to divide up the top two posts in the next government.
According to reports, Uspaskich, who heads the Labor Party, currently the most popular, proposed that Brazauskas keep the prime minister's seat in return for allowing Uspaskich, a millionaire of ethnic Russian background, to become deputy.
Brazauskas reportedly rejected the informal bid, saying he did not want "to be a tool in Uspaskich's hands and assume responsibility for mistakes made by the new administration."
Lithuania currently does not have a post of deputy prime minister, and establishing one would require amending the Constitution.
The parliamentary elections are scheduled for Oct. 10. All opinion polls forecast that the populist Labor Party will be most successful and win up to a third of all votes.
