VILNIUS - Following months of personal reflection, former President Valdas Adamkus on April 24 declared his intention to enter the presidential race, setting the stage for a possible rematch against Rolandas Paksas, who snatched the presidency away from Adamkus in a surprise victory in January 2003.
In his official statement, Adamkus, 77, said he made his decision based on a desire to act "in the interest of Lithuania" and pledged to remain a nonpartisan candidate.
A survey released on April 21 conducted by the Baltijos Tyrimai polling agency revealed that Adamkus would garner 37 percent of the vote in a hypothetical first-round election, with former President Rolandas Paksas edging in second at 16 percent.
Polls aside, the entrance of the popular former president adds a new element of drama to the contest that, according to many independent observers, has increasingly come to resemble an out-of-control spectacle. Questions about the ever-widening field of contenders and Adamkus' own viability prevented the former president from dominating the race at this early stage.
Regardless, Adamkus appeared cognizant of the necessity to run his campaign differently in the upcoming elections, which will be held concurrently with European Parliament polls on June 13.
Speaking to reporters after officially registering his candidacy with the central elections committee on April 26, Adamkus admitted that his effort in the last election was undermined by a sense of aloofness. While Paksas was shuttled from town to town in a helicopter, Adamkus spent a lot of time on state visits abroad.
"It is necessary to be closer to the people. I plan to meet actively with voters and to speak to them in a simple, understandable language," he said.
Adamkus further pledged to make major behind-the-scenes changes, saying that his campaign team would consist of "new faces."
The revamped Adamkus candidacy materialized after a long period of seemingly contradictory statements about the possibility of his running during the Paksas presidential scandal. In an interview granted to the news agency ELTA months earlier, Adamkus shocked onlookers when he pledged he would not "declare my own candidacy." However, shortly after Paksas' removal on April 6, Adamkus, who served as president from 1998 until 2003, stated he would "have no choice but to run" if Paksas entered the race.
Paksas, the first-ever European president to be impeached and removed from office, announced his candidacy on Apr. 19.
With Adamkus, the group of candidates has now swelled to eight.
Petras Austrevicius, Lithuania's top negotiator with the EU and a favorite of the Vilnius political elite, deposited his documents with the Central Electoral Committee on April 23, while Vitas Tomkus, the scandalous publisher of the daily Respublika responsible for a recent series of anti-Semitic articles, entered the contest as well.
Finally, with the appearance of nationalist MP Julius Veselka to round out the field, some of the nation's foremost political scientists called the race a "farce" and a "spectacle."
Yet a clear sense of trajectory even among mainstream political forces remained difficult to detect, as shifting allegiances and vague statements continued to cause disquiet.
Prime Minster Algirdas Brazauskas injected perhaps the most confusion into the process with his seeming endorsement of Adamkus, whom he personally advised to participate in the elections. This gesture seemingly contradicted the decision of Brazauskas' Social Democratic Party to nominate acting Parliamentary Chairman Ceslovas Jursenas as its own candidate, bringing into question exactly where the powerful prime minister's allegiances lay.
Yet another wild card was the New Union-Social Liberal party, whose de facto leader, acting President Arturas Paulauksas, also urged Adamkus to run.
While New Union was rumored to be considering Social Security and Labor Minister Vilija Blinkeviciute as their nominee, Paulauskas refused to pin his unconditional support to either candidate.
"As the former leader of New Union, it would be strange for me not to support the candidate from my own party," Paulauskas told The Baltic Times.
According to the constitution, a sitting president is not allowed to belong to any political party.
Yet in spite of his seeming desire for party loyalty, the acting head of state remained candid about his personal feelings.
"I merely wish to suggest that the situation should be evaluated closely, that we should examine the necessity for many candidates," he said.
Presidential hopefuls must declare register their candidacy by May 8 and must collect 20,000 valid petition signatures to participate in the elections.
