Main narratives:
- general anti-government sentiments;
- speculations about the growing threat to Lithuania;
- the incompetence of the current government.
Overview:
Over the past week, stories considering local politicians and the general work of the government gathered the most audience engagement while specifically analysing Kremlin-affiliated media in Lithuania. Kremlin-sympathetic outlets widely discussed the tensions between two of the candidates for the presidential post – Ignas Vėgėlė and Eduardas Vaitkus, covering how they are both blaming each other for allegedly spreading slander about each other. Most engaged stories also included the recent decision of the central electoral commission of the Republic of Lithuania (VRK) to strip Remigijus Žemaitaitis of his mandate. Pro-Kremlin media outlets also generally complained about the current government of Lithuania, claiming that the “situation in the country is critical, the president’s work is pathetic, chaos in the Seimas is taking over, and the government is terrible”. Not surprisingly, as the Presidential elections are just around the corner, all of the most engaged stories focused on the domestic issues and criticism of the current government.
