Reports
Lithuania Weekly: Minister of Defence stepping down
During the reporting week, the Minister of National Defense, Arvydas Anušauskas, announced his resignation. The sudden and unexpected event generated mass reactions across all media, including the Kremlin-aligned. Most malign actors and outlets emphasised that after it became clear that Anušaukas resigned, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė had to explain the situation immediately. Failing to do so, or, as Kremlin-aligned media put it, “her unwillingness to do so”, indicated that “there is no professionalism left in this government”. They also claimed that it was not only “the worst time to announce his [Anušauskas] resignation” referring to the intense situation with the war in the close neighbourhood and during the weekend of the "election" of the Russian president), but the delayed response let the panic spread “like wildfire in society for three days”. The story itself and the follow-up handling of it allowed the anti-government narratives to spread further and possibly affect the general view of the ruling government before the upcoming elections later this year.
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Lithuania Monthly: Suspected embezzlement of millions
During this reporting period, a significant financial scandal dominated the Lithuanian media space. On 2nd February 2024, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the arrest of a former partner of the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund in Vilnius. Šarūnas Stepukonis was suspected of having misappropriated €27 million from the fund. This revelation has triggered a complicated blame game and raised questions about oversight and potential connections between this case and the gambling industry.
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Lithuania Weekly: heating atmosphere regarding Presidential elections
During this reporting week, the focus was on the upcoming Presidential elections and other domestic issues. Kremlin-aligned actors emphasised the recent findings that there were some cyber security violations while collecting signatures to ensure presidential candidacies online. The main target immediately became Ingrida Šimonytė, the current Prime Minister, who collected the necessary number of signatures at record speed. As she represents the ruling government, these cyber security issues overlapped with general anti-government sentiments. Moreover, recent massive financial scandals still often appears as an argument against the government. Some maligned actors didn’t hesitate to picture local LGBT movements vastly negatively, using a harsh lexicon.
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Lithuania Weekly: financial scandals threatening the government
During this reporting week, Kremlin-aligned media mainly held on the BaltCap's case, as the recent internal investigation found Šarūnas Stepukonis may have embezzled even €40.4 million, and the fact that MP Justas Džiugelis has suspended his membership at the ruling Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democratic (TS-LKD) party and left the party’s group at the Seimas amid reports of his ties to a gambling lobbyist.
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