Lithuanian opposition to form new government

Lithuania's opposition Social Democratic Party won the second and final round of the parliamentary elections on Sunday and was on the way to forming a new coalition government, a change described by experts as good for improving China-Lithuania ties.

Official government figures show that the center-left Social Democratic Party led with 52 seats in the 141-member assembly with 99 percent of the vote counted, while the ruling conservative Homeland Union came in second with 28 seats.

"The results are great," said Vilija Blinkeviciute, leader of the Social Democratic Party and a member of the European Parliament.

"The results of this election showed that the Lithuanian people, no matter where they live, in large cities, in small cities or villages, they want change."

Without confirming whether she would seek the position of prime minister, Blinkeviciute said she would soon take "full responsibility and form the ruling majority together with the president".

The Social Democrats aim to form a center-left coalition government with two other opposition parties — For Lithuania, and the Farmers and Greens Union.

During the campaigns, Blinkeviciute vowed to tackle the growing inequality by raising taxes on the wealthy to help fund social support and healthcare.

Concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the rising living costs topped the agenda in the elections. The Baltic state of 2.9 million saw inflation hitting 19.71 percent in 2022 and 9.12 percent in 2023, among the highest of the 27 European Union member states.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte of the Homeland Union, who took power in 2020, saw her popularity declining due to high inflation, the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and political scandals.

The change in government is unlikely to dramatically change the country's foreign policy. The Social Democrats also support aid to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and will keep the defense spending above 3 percent of the GDP. Lithuania is a member of NATO.

Elze Pinelyte, an associate expert at the Eastern European Studies Center run by the Prague-based Association for International Affairs, believes the new government led by Social Democrats will be less hostile to Beijing compared with the current one and will pursue normalizing diplomatic relations.

"Lithuania's rapprochement with China will also depend on the outcome of the upcoming US presidential elections," she wrote on the think tank's website.

Agencies contributed to the story.