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Dawn of Nemunas

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Dawn of Nemunas
Nemuno aušra
AbbreviationNA
ChairpersonRemigijus Žemaitaitis[1]
FounderRemigijus Žemaitaitis
Founded11 November 2023 (2023-11-11)
Registered16 January 2024 (2024-01-16)
Split fromFreedom and Justice
Membership (2024)2,296
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[11] (self-described)
Right-wing[6][7]
Colours  Orange
  Brown
Seimas
3 / 141
European Parliament
0 / 12
Municipal councils
0 / 1,461
Mayors
0 / 60
Website
nemunoausra.eu

Dawn of Nemunas (Lithuanian: Nemuno aušra) is a populist[2][3][4] political party in Lithuania. It was founded in November 2023 by Remigijus Žemaitaitis after his expulsion from the Freedom and Justice party due to his antisemitic statements. In June 2024, the party gained representation in the Seimas after three MPs joined the party; one formerly of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union and two formerly of the Labour Party.[12]

The party describes itself as centre-left,[9][13] though it has also been described as right-wing.[3][6][7][14]

History

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Background

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In May 2023, Remigijus Žemaitaitis published antisemitic comments on Facebook, in which he claimed that “the Jews and Russians” oppressed ethnic Lithuanians during the Second World War and were responsible for the 1944 massacre of the village of Pirčiupiai.[15][16] The comments were received with harsh criticism and condemnation from Lithuanian politicians, the Lithuanian Jewish community and numerous ambassadors to Lithuania. The office of the Prosecutor General launched an ongoing investigation to Žemaitaitis' actions.[17] On 19 May 2023 Freedom and Justice terminated Žemaitaitis's membership in the party, and Artūras Paulauskas became the party's interim chairman.[18]

Foundation

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On 11 November 2023, Remigijus Žemaitaitis announced the creation of a political party under the name Dawn of Nemunas.[19][20][21] He also said that his party plans to take part in all elections held in 2024 and nominate its own presidential candidate. Earlier, Žemaitaitis said that he had gathered more than 3,000 people to create the party.[22] He also claimed that most of the Freedom and Justice faction will join the new political force.[20]

The party was registered on 16 January 2024. The party had 2,296 inaugural members during the registration.[23] Shortly before the registration, Lithuanian Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė asked the parliament to strip Žemaitaitis of his legal immunity, stating that the pre-trial investigation suggests that Žemaitaitis “publicly ridiculed, expressed contempt for, and incited hatred against a group of people of Jewish nationality”.[24]

Agnė Širinskienė, former member of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, and Aidas Gedvilas and Artūras Skardžius, formerly from the Labour Party, joined Dawn of Nemunas on 19 June 2024. With Žemaitaitis' previous resignation from parliament, this increased the party's representation to 3 Members of the Seimas.[25][12]

In July 2024, polls showed that about 36.5% of voters would consider voting for the party. Supporters of the Labour Party, Lithuanian Regions Party and Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union were most likely to view Žemaitaitis favorably. Žemaitaitis was also viewed favorably by a large percentage of voters from centre-left parties and around a fifth of Liberals' Movement voters, while supporters of the centre-right Homeland Union were least likely to support him.[26] In August, the party's polling surpassed 10%, overtaking the ruling Homeland Union.[27]

Ahead of the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė of the Homeland Union and President Gitanas Nausėda warned parties against forming a coalition with Dawn of Nemunas due to Žemaitaitis' antisemitic statements. The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, which had initially viewed Dawn of Nemunas as a potential partner after elections, subsequently ruled out forming a coalition with the party.[28]

Ideology

[edit]

Dawn of Nemunas describes itself as a centre-left,[9][13] classical liberal and Christian party.[29] The party's leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, proposed forming a "centre-left" coalition without the Homeland Union.[30][31] According to Žemaitaitis, the party leans "centre-left on social issues related to people’s wellbeing", but is "on the right when it comes to what makes statehood – our language, culture and national identity".[3]

The party has been described as populist and, according to political scientist Virgis Valentinavičius, deliberately invokes common antisemitic tropes such as "Jewish parasites" to attract poorly educated voters.[2][32] Europe Elects describes the party as right-wing.[7] In November 2023, shortly after the party was founded, Delfi described it as centre-right.[14] In September 2024, state broadcaster LRT described the party's ideology as "difficult to pinpoint" as it had not yet released an election program.[33] The party was described by Deutsche Welle in May 2024 as right-wing nationalist[6] and by bne Intellinews in October 2024 as radical right.[3]

The party supports the establishment of a state-owned bank and a road fund, granting tax breaks to large families, taking state control of the shares of state-owned energy holding company Ignitis, halting reforms in education for 4 years and auditing the reorganization of the network of schools and health care institutions. It pledges to not raise value added taxes to finance national defense.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Leista registruoti Žemaitaičio vadovaujamą partiją "Nemuno aušra"". LRT (in Lithuanian). 10 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Kirkilaitė, Goda (16 August 2024). "Kylant R. Žemaitaičio reitingams, naujokai veržiasi į priekį: ciniškas, bet labai efektyvus projektas" (in Lithuanian).
  3. ^ a b c d e Jegelevicius, Linas (2024-10-08). "PROFILE: Remigijus Zemaitaitis, Lithuania's new radical-right leader". bne IntelliNews. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  4. ^ a b "General Elections 2024 Lithuania". Robert Schuman Foundation (in French). 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  5. ^ [2][3][4]
  6. ^ a b c d Eggert, Konstantin (2024-05-26). "Lithuanian President Nauseda: A socialist and moralist – DW – 05/26/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  7. ^ a b c d "Lithuania". Europe Elects. 2024-09-14. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  8. ^ "R. Žemaitaitis: Lietuva galėtų taikyti griežtesnę migrantų atstūmimo praktiką", iq.lt
  9. ^ a b c "Remigijus Žemaitaitis pareiškė, kas pasikeistų jį išrinkus: „Šimonytė Vyriausybėje nebedirbtų"". TV3 naujienos (in Lithuanian). 5 August 2024. Kitas dalykas – kai rudenį vyks Seimo rinkimai, man labai svarbu, kad „Nemuno aušra", kairioji politinė grupė, galėtų formuoti valdančiąją daugumą. [Another thing is that when the Seimas elections take place in the autumn, it is very important for me that „Nemuno aušra“, a leftist political group, is able to form a ruling majority.]
  10. ^ Vaišvila, Zigmas (12 August 2024). "Zigmas Vaišvila: Svarbiausia – pareigos. O Lietuvos žmonės?" (in Lithuanian).
  11. ^ [2][9][10]
  12. ^ a b Lyberytė, Augustė (19 June 2024). "A. Širinskienė nusprendė stoti į R. Žemaitaičio partiją: prie "Nemuno aušros" jungiasi dar du Seimo nariai". jp.lt (in Lithuanian).
  13. ^ a b "Partijos "Nemuno Aušra" Valdyba apibrėžė rinkimų programos kryptis ir diskutavo dėl Koalicijos". nemunoaušra.lt (in Lithuanian). Dawn of Nemunas. 4 July 2024. "Tuo tarpu centro-kairiąsias jėgas matytume kaip galimus bendradarbius. Save pozicionuojame taip pat šioje politinio spektro pusėje." – teigia partijos „Nemuno aušra" rinkimų štabo vadovas R. Puchovič.
  14. ^ a b "Žemaitaitis pateikė dokumentus partijos "Nemuno aušra" steigimui". Delfi (in Lithuanian). 22 November 2023. Kaip Eltai teigė R. Žemaitaitis, naujasis darinys ketina dalyvauti visuose 2024 m. vyksiančiuose rinkimuose. Į juos, akcentavo politikas, centro dešinei priklausanti jėga eis raginimais atsigręžti į Lietuvos regionus.
  15. ^ Andrukaitytė, Milena. "Lithuanian MP Žemaitaitis stripped of immunity over anti-Semitic posts".
  16. ^ "Istorikas apie Pirčiupių žudynes: nežinau, iš kur Žemaitaitis traukė, kad tai padarė žydai", lrt.lt
  17. ^ Canaan, Lidor. "Lithuanian lawmaker in hot water after quoting song urging kids to kill Jews". Times of Israel.
  18. ^ „Laisvė ir teisingumas“ stabdo Žemaitaičio narystę partijoje
  19. ^ Geštautas, Alvydas (2023-11-17). "K. Bilius – kuriamos partijos Nemuno aušra vicepirmininkas". BIČIULIS (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  20. ^ a b "Žemaitaitis skelbia įkūręs naują partiją "Nemuno aušra"". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  21. ^ "R.Žemaitaitis patvirtintas naujai įkurtos partijos "Nemuno aušra" pirmininku". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  22. ^ "R. Žemaitaitis skelbia įkūręs partiją". Kauno diena (in Lithuanian). 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  23. ^ Rekvizitai.lt. "Nemuno Aušra". Rekvizitai.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  24. ^ "MP Žemaitaitis, accused of anti-Semitism, to run for Lithuanian president". lrt.lt. 22 January 2024.
  25. ^ a b Klimaševska, Ūla (2024-07-28). "Partiją „Nemuno aušra" į Seimą ves jos įkūrėjas Žemaitaitis: patvirtintas kandidatų sąrašas ir rinkimų programa". Delfi (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  26. ^ "Kas rinktų R. Žemaitaitį Seimo rinkimuose?" (in Lithuanian). 5 August 2024.
  27. ^ Vaišvilaitė-Braziulienė, Justina (8 August 2024). "Ex-MP Žemaitaitis' party overtakes TS-LKD in opinion poll". delfi.lt.
  28. ^ Seputyte, Milda (2024-09-13). "Antisemitism Scandal Alarms Lithuanian Leaders Ahead of Election". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  29. ^ "LAISVAS ŽMOGUS – ATVIRA VISUOMENĖ – STIPRI VALSTYBĖ". nemunoausra.online (in Lithuanian). Dawn of Nemunas. Nemuno aušra savo politinę veiklą grindžia liberalizmo principais, kylančiais iš klasikinės ir Naujųjų laikų politinės filosofijos tradicijos bei krikščioniškoje kultūroje susiformavusios asmens ir bendrojo gėrio sampratos. Individo laisvė mums yra pagrindinė vertybė. Tik laisvas žmogus gali būti visavertis visuomenės narys. Tačiau būtina šios laisvės sąlyga – asmens atsakomybė, atsakomybė bendruomenei, savo šaliai.
  30. ^ Klimaševska, Ūla (28 July 2024). "Partiją „Nemuno aušra" į Seimą ves jos įkūrėjas Žemaitaitis: patvirtintas kandidatų sąrašas ir rinkimų programa" (in Lithuanian).
  31. ^ Broga, Karolis (2024-10-09). "Leader of Nemunas Dawn expects to be part of centre-left coalition". Delfi EN (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  32. ^ Kvaraciejus, Kęstutis. "Neaiškus politinis "kūdikis" pasiruošęs vesti pasitikti aušros nežinia kurioje Nemuno pusėje". lsdp.lt (in Lithuanian). Social Democratic Party of Lithuania.
  33. ^ Samoškaitė, Eglė (2024-09-09). "Sneering at Israel, swearing at elites: behind the rise of Lithuania's wildcard politician". lrt.lt. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
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