Lithuanian opposition calls for resignation

VILNIUS - After hearing President Valdas Adamkus' state of the nation, opposition party leaders stated that the government and Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas had nothing left to do than resign.

"If I were the prime minister, after such state of the nation I would either resign or come to the Seimas to check the trust in a secret ballot. This should be the practice in a democratic country because, obviously, the president was very critical of the situation in Lithuania - not only of the past year but also of the past period." said Rasa Junkeviciene, deputy chairman of the opposition Conservatives.

Her opinion was seconded by the head of the second-largest parliamentary group, Virginija Baltraitiene of the Labor Party. In her words, the president's state of the nation revealed that Adamkus did not expect anything from the Kirkilas-led government and put his hopes on the Oct. 12 general parliamentary elections and the new Cabinet that would be formed after.

Meanwhile, the opposition Liberal Movement's leader Eligijus Masiulis says that the president highlighted all problems in an accurate manner, however, it looked like "an experienced wolf standing aside of all political processes."

Masiulis said he had also gotten the impression that Adamkus did not see any possibilities of change during the six months until the parliamentary elections.

During the state of the nation address, the president stated that Lithuania was enduring a crisis of trust in the state. He highlighted the fact that Lithuania had failed to implement court reforms, develop family policy, follow through with university education restructuring, noting that citizens were distant from politics because they only saw contradictions in the political arena.