Mindaugas Sinkevicius becomes Lithuania PM after parliament approves manifesto

Social Democrat leader Mindaugas Sinkevicius became Lithuania's new prime minister on Tuesday after parliament approved his government's programme, paving the way for his cabinet to take office.Lithuania, a member of both Nato and the European Union, shares borders with Russia and Belarus. The Baltic nation is Nato's highest defence spender as a share of its economy, with an estimated 5.33% of its gross domestic product (GDP) allocated to defence this year.Presenting his government's programme, Sinkevicius pledged to maintain defence spending above 5% of GDP, continue seeking the presence of US troops in Lithuania as a deterrent against Russia, and sustain support for Ukraine."It would be a mistake to believe that Russian military threat is subsiding due to the large losses it is now taking," Sinkevicius told parliament, referring to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.Sinkevicius succeeds fellow Social Democrat Inga Ruginiene, who had served as prime minister since last year. She stepped aside to allow the party leader to take over following recent political turmoil within the ruling coalition.

The new centre-left coalition comprises the Social Democrats, For Lithuania and the Farmers and Green Union, giving the government a narrow parliamentary majority.The populist Nemunas Dawn party, whose leader is facing charges of incitement to hatred against Jews and belittling the Holocaust, is no longer part of the governing coalition.In the 141-member parliament, 72 lawmakers voted in favour of the government's programme, while 29 opposed it and four abstained. The remaining members were absent.Lithuania's next parliamentary election is scheduled for October 2028.(with inputs from Reuters)