In Vilnius, over 5,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Lithuanian parliament on Thursday to protest the Social Democrats’ decision to form a coalition government with a party led by a politician facing trial for alleged antisemitic remarks.
The Social Democrats, who secured 86 of the 141 seats in parliament after forming a coalition with the Nemunas Dawn and For Lithuania parties, were formally sworn in on Thursday.
Remigijus Zemaitaitis, founder and leader of Nemunas Dawn, resigned from parliament in April ahead of an impeachment vote after the Constitutional Court determined that his social media posts from last year violated his parliamentary oath by inciting hatred against Jews.
Zemaitaitis went on trial in September, facing charges of “attempting to create hostility and provoking intolerance towards Jews” as well as downplaying Lithuania’s role in the Holocaust. He has maintained that his comments were not antisemitic and denies any wrongdoing.
Despite the controversy, Zemaitaitis placed fourth in the presidential election in May, and his party currently holds 20 parliamentary seats. Gintautas Paluckas, the Social Democrats’ deputy leader and their candidate for prime minister, suggested that the protesters’ true issue may be with the election’s outcome rather than the coalition itself.
“The people have spoken… Please allow us to form a government and demonstrate with our deeds that the dissatisfaction is probably baseless,” Paluckas told reporters inside the parliament.
