Lithuania president criticizes Social Democrats’ decision to form coalition with party leader accused of antisemitism News
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Lithuania president criticizes Social Democrats’ decision to form coalition with party leader accused of antisemitism

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda criticized the leading Social Democratic Party party’s decision to enter into a coalition agreement with Nemunas Dawn, a nationalist and populist political party whose leader has been accused of extreme antisemitism.

Speaking to local media, Nausėda raised concerns about the effect that the antisemitic remarks of Nemunas Dawn’s leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, could have on Lithuania’s international relationships. He further stated that he would not support the creation of any coalition with Žemaitaitis, and likely would not support any coalition with a leader from the Nemunas Dawn.

While he acknowledged the desire to ensure a mathematical majority for the ruling party, the president noted attempting to court leaders from the party would give an international image of Lithuania as a “hostage”, and even stated he had needed to clarify the opposition of Lithuanian government to Žemaitaitis’s remarks to multiple diplomatic and consular officials from other states.

Concerns about the possibility of a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and Nemunas Dawn have spread beyond Lithuania itself, with human rights and advocacy organizations raising concerns about the potential for a leader with an anti-Semitic track record entering into parliament. The American Jewish Committee, in a letter sent out to the Social Democrat leader Gintautas Paluckas and Nausėda, raised concerns regarding the coalition and called on the social democrats to reconsider forming a coalition with Nemunas Dawn. 

The Lithuanian Constitutional Court identified multiple instances of antisemitic remarks and misinformation being posted on Facebook by Žemaitaitis, such as conspiracy theories about the involvement of Jewish communities in massacres committed against Lithuanians by the Nazis and the Soviet Union during World War II, infammatory remarks regarding the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, and violently antisemitic poems. Following these complaints, impeachment proceedings were initiated against Žemaitaitis on the basis that his comments violated the constitution.

The court found these complaints had merit and that Žemaitaitis violated sections 21 and 25 of the Lithuanian constitution, leading to his impeachment from the Lithuanian parliament. Section 21 of the Lithuanian Constitution sets out foundational protections against infringements against human rights and dignity, declaring “the person is inviolable” and “human dignity shall be protected.” Section 25 sets out legal protections for freedom of speech and conscience, stating “Individuals… have the rights to have their convictions and freely express them” and “freedom to express convictions, as well as to obtain and disseminate information, may not be restricted in any way other than established by law.” However, Section 25 provides that rights are conditional upon not leading to the “instigation of national, racial, religious, or social hatred, violence, or discrimination, the dissemination of slander, or misinformation”.

In its decision, the court noted that the comments of Žemaitaitis clearly incited hatred against the Jewish community, undermined national unity, and violated the conditions of freedom of speech set out in section 25. 

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