Nauseda starts as favorite in the second round of the Lithuanian elections against Simonyte

The Lithuanian president, Nauseda Gypsiesand the prime minister, Ingrida Simonytewill face each other tomorrow in the second round of the presidential elections, an election in which the first starts a priori with an advantage and in which between one contestant and the other there are no major political differences.

Nauseda, a centrist with conservative tendencies, who presents himself as an independent, won in the first round on the 11th 43.95%while the head of Government, supported by the centrist-conservative Unión de la Patria party, achieved 20.05%.

Both Nauseda, who has been president since 2019, and Simonyte, prime minister since 2020, are among those close to 166,000 Lithuaniansof a total of 2.3 million with the right to vote, who cast their ballot in the polls early.

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Simonyté won the first round in 2019 against the then newcomer to politics Gitanas Nauseda, but lost in the second.

This Saturday the streets of the center of the Lithuanian capital were blocked by a half marathon and many of those who remained after cheering on the runners were dispersed by torrential rain.

“The surprise would be if Nauseda did not win”

In a bar where some people were taking shelter from the rain, Anastasija told EFE that she had already voted in advance for Simonyté because she is “the best person for young people.”

Oļeg, a web designer, said that doing something for ordinary Lithuanians, especially for older people, was an important question for him. He stated that he would vote for Nauseda, who advocates making Lithuania a welfare state.

According to what Kestutis Girnius, academic and political commentator, told EFE, the surprise would be if Nauseda “will not win forcefully“.

With the political positions of both candidates largely coinciding, the analyst rated these “boring” elections.

A guide to run-off candidates published by the public broadcasting service LRT showed similar views of Nauseda and Simonyte on key issues, especially foreign and defense policy.

Both consider Russia, with which Lithuania shares a border, a clear threat, strongly support Ukraine and advocate increasing defense spending to at least 3% of Lithuanian GDP.

“They are both so pro-American that they would like to see Lithuania as the 51st state,” joked the analyst, who stressed that there are no real differences between the two rivals in economic policy, in which Simonyte adopts a centrist stance. liberal.

Nauseda has promoted his ideas of a welfare state. Her rival is in favor of the State intervening to reduce inequality in society but not of raising taxes on the highest salaries.

Where the prime minister appears progressive – and Nauseda conservative – is on issues such as civil unions between people of the same sex and the ratification of the Istanbul Convention against violence against women and domestic violence.

Because of their minor differences on domestic issues, they have irritated each other both as president and prime minister in recent years and now as rival presidential candidates.

It is known that they do not get along, and even “hate each other”, in the words of Girnius.

Of course, in the penultimate electoral debate on Friday night both praised each other and attributed their differences to normal discussions between two politicians.