Lithuania’s parliament on September 25 approved the programme of the country’s 20th government, giving Social Democratic Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene and her cabinet the green light to take office despite fierce opposition to one of the ministerial nominees, a parliament statement said.

The programme, backed by 80 MPs with 40 against and two abstentions, was drafted by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Dawn of River Nemunas and the Farmers and Greens Union with the Christian Families Alliance.

Many analysts hastened to call the new government the weakest ever, and its record is already tarnished by scandal after a video showed the culture minister candidate of the radical right Dawn of River Nemunas, Ignotas Adomavicius, dancing lewdly in a hot tub. 

“The government will be plagued by scandals from day one,” Vytautas Dumbliauskas, a prominent Lithuanian analyst, told bne IntelliNews. 

“The biggest problem will be Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the radical right Dawn of River Nemunas, who is likely to blackmail both President Gitanas Nauseda and the Social Democrats, the main coalition party. However, I do not believe we are heading for an early parliamentary election – no one wants to lose their coveted MP mandate.” 

On the evening of September 24, public figure Andrius Tapinas published a video on Facebook showing Adomavicius dancing in a hot tub with his underwear pulled down to the tune of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, pressing a woman’s head into his crotch and imitating the beginning of oral sex.

“The minister is a mockery, and I am sure that Zemaitaitis has deliberately picked the candidate,” Dumbliauskas said, adding: “I cannot believe that the president agreed to nominate him [Adomavicius].”

Adomavicius, 42, who studied arts and business, has dismissed the backlash as politically motivated. Ruginiene has offered talks with the cultural community to defuse tensions, but artists say a red line has already been crossed.

Ruginiene promised a “stronger public sector”, higher wages, greater dignity for pensioners and more investment in defence, pledging that decisions would be based on dialogue. The government has committed to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP while freezing diesel excise hikes and introducing only one new levy – a financial stability tax on banks, BNS, an independent Lithuanian news agency, and LRT, Lithuania’s national broadcaster, reported.

The opposition condemned the programme as chaotic, pointing to large spending pledges without clear funding sources and questioning the competence of some ministers. The fiercest criticism has unsurprisingly centred on Adomavicius.

Adomavicius, whose background is in his family’s pasta business, has been mocked by opponents as unqualified, with President Gitanas Nauseda himself joking that “luxury car dealers or kebab franchise owners” would be equally suitable, BNS and LRT.lt said.

Despite this, Nauseda confirmed his appointment “with a heavy heart”. The move sparked large-scale protests outside the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, where cultural figures, artists and musicians denounced the decision. Demonstrations also took place in Kaunas, Klaipeda, Panevezys and Siauliai, while a petition against Adomavicius gathered around 50,000 signatures.

Placards carried by protesters read: “My dog would make a better culture minister” and “Culture is not for sale”. Organisers warned that continued demonstrations, strikes and boycotts could follow, LRT.lt said.

The new government consists of Social Democratic Party (LSDP, 52 seats), Dawn of River Nemunas (20 seats) and Lithuanian Farmers, Greens and Christian Families (LVZS, eight seats).

As reported by bne IntelliNews, Lithuania’s previous PM Gintautas Paluckas of the LSDP resigned in July after the revelation of a series of shady business dealings.