VILNIUS, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction about partnership with the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS), amid growing tensions in the country's ruling coalition.
Gintautas Paluckas, the new leader of LSDP, said tensions within the ruling coalition have been growing, although the Social Democrats don't consider leaving the coalition yet. Though, he noted to local media, the prospects of the partnership with LVZS are to be seen later in the fall.
"We will weigh our cooperation in the fall, we will have the moment of maximum challenges," Paluckas told news agency Elta on Wednesday referring to the key decisions awaiting the country's parliament in the autumn session, such as approval of the State budget and tax reform.
According to Paluckas, the upcoming decisions will define the future cooperation between the parties. Paluckas's remarks followed criticism from the former prime minister of Lithuania and former leader of LSDP Algirdas Butkevicius. Butkevicius told local media on Wednesday he regretted joining the ruling coalition with LVZS following parliamentary elections last year.
"Yes, I've expressed this position. This is my personal view, I don't know what the party's leadership would do," Butkevicius told news website delfi.lt.
According to Butkevicius, previously, LVZS attracted LSDP for declaring "left-wing ideas, attention to ordinary people, job creation, region's development," but recent decisions have diverged significantly from the previous declarations and agreements.
LSDP is a minority partner at the LVZS-led ruling coalition. Last year's parliamentary elections left LSDP, the leader of the former government, with the third place and 17 seats at the 141-seat parliament, while LVZS came first with 56 seats taking the leading role in forming the ruling coalition.
Tensions between the coalition partners have emerged amid initiatives from LVZS to reform the country's forestry sector. The former prime minister complained LVZS had rejected all the amendments proposed by LSDP.
Saulius Skvernelis, Lithuania's prime minister and one of the leaders of LVZS, reacted, saying this was Butkevicius' personal opinion, though LSDP have an "opportunity to make a choice."
"If this view is shared widely in the party, including the party's leadership and LSDP members at the parliament, then the decision would be respected," Skvernelis told journalists later on Wednesday.
