VILNIUS - In the latest round of Lithuania's parliamentary squabbling, the ruling Social Democrat Party on April 2 proposed disbanding Parliament and calling for early elections, a measure which lawmakers rejected. Slightly over half of MPs registered to vote on the measure, and ultimately 35 voted for early elections, while 29 were against and 25 abstained.
"Our party leadership decided that early elections may be one of the possible ways out of the current situation, which threatens the normal work of Parliament," Ceslovas Jursenas, deputy chairman of the Social Democrat Party told The Baltic Times.
"Following the decision of the party, I have registered a draft law proposing to hold early parliamentary elections on June 24," Jursenas added.
According to Jursenas, who is also deputy speaker of Parliament, the discussion on early elections was sparked by the March 29 parliamentary session in which lawmakers spent nearly half a day arguing over the meeting's agenda.
The chaos threatened to delay a scheduled speech by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso, who was on a visit to Lithuania at the time.
"Thursday's [March 29] events demonstrated that we are close to complete chaos, and one of the possibilities to prevent it is to ask voters who they want to see in Parliament," Jursenas said.
The Social Democrat Party is a member of Lithuania's ruling coalition, which also includes the Civic Democracy Union, the Liberal Center Party and the Farmers' Union.
The coalition government, headed by Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas, lacks a majority in Parliament. Since coming to power last July it has functioned mainly thanks to support from the opposition Conservative Party.
However, the Conservatives have in recent weeks been increasingly discontent with the government's policies, in particular with its support of the Arvydas Pocius, head of the State Security Department, whom the party wants to step down.
Andrius Kubilius, Conser-vative chairman, told a briefing at the end of March that the party is likely to withdraw its support of the ruling coalition if Pocius remains in his position.
But Kubilius didn't warm to the proposal to hold early elections, saying he sees it as an attempt to avoid responsibility for the country's problems.
"It seems that it is easier for the Social Democrat Party to go for early elections than to solve the crisis in the State Security Department," he said.
Viktoras Muntianas, speaker of the parliament and chairman of Civic Democracy Union, was skeptical of the Social Democrats' initiative.
"The current situation is not favorable for early elections. If we strive to elect a Parliament that enjoys the people's confidence, we will hardly achieve this given recent events in Parliament," Muntianas said.
"And if we have the early elections, the turnout will be low and the new parliament will not have the confidence we are looking for," Muntianas said.
Kazimiera Prunskiene, agriculture minister and chairwoman of the ruling coalition's Farmers Union, said she too was against early elections.
"If the two parties 's the Social Democrat Party and Conservative Party 's cannot work together, it does not mean the situation in the country should be destabilized. We must continue our work without any elections," Prunskiene told the Baltic News Service.
The only party that said it would support the call for early elections was Order and Justice, headed by the impeached president Rolandas Paksas.
"We understand that it looks more like a public relations act, as the Social Democrat Party knows voters do not trust the current Parliament. But we also know that it is almost impossible to ensure the required number of lawmakers to support the initiative," Paksas said.
To call early elections, three-fifths of the MPs, or no less than 85 of Parliament's 141 members, would have had to support the initiative.
Kubilius said that if the Social Democrats want early elections they should recall the government.
But Jursenas argued that resignation of the government is a longer path to early elections.
"Then we would need the appointment of a new prime minister and vote on the program of the new government. And only when that is twice rejected by Parliament can the president call early elections," Jursenas explained.
"We want it in a more simple way, as we are not afraid of the voters," he added.
But some analysts and insiders believe the Social Democrats did not in fact want early elections at all and were only trying to call the Conservatives' bluff. If they want, they can strengthen the coalition by inviting the outcast Labor Party on board, a development which the Conservatives would not welcome.
The next regular parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2008.
