- October 29, 2012
- 253
Tomaszewski: If we don’t reach an agreement with the coalition, we will stay in opposition
“There is always a chance that we will become a part of the coalition. We will see if it happens now or in three months” Waldemar Tomaszewski said at an interview for PL DELFI. The leader of AWPL [Polish: Akcja Wyborcza Polaków na Litwie] commented that not every party is able to jump from three seats to eight.
What are AWPL’s chances of becoming a part of the governing coalition?
There is always a chance that we will become a part of the governing coalition. The new parliament consists of several different elements. There are seven parties, including our party. We constitute the sixth political power but almost equal to the fifth (The Liberal Movement) and the fourth (Order and Justice). In such a diversified parliament every vote is significant, not to mention eight votes. And we will see if we become a part of the coalition now or in three months.
With whom will AWPL never form the coalition?
Politicians never say “never”. The main aims of our programme are the most important for us. If we don’t reach an agreement with the governing coalition, we will stay in opposition. We have never been afraid of being the opposition. However, we can observe a lack of trust in the governing conservative party. In my opinion, this party doesn’t have to participate in the process of forming the new governing coalition in the new parliament. But the recent events, when the Labour Party gave its support to Conservatives and the other way round, have revealed the dishonesty of certain politicians. They say one thing to the electorate but do something completely different to satisfy their own needs.
Which ministries is AWPL going to apply for?
We haven’t started any negotiations on this issue yet.
What are you going to do? Do you plan to continue your work in the European Parliament or became a member of Lithuanian Parliament?
I still think about it. But in our election campaign we promised to hand one seat over to our coalition members. As a result, one of us will have to resign from the seat and give it to Irina Rozowa. We haven’t made a final decision yet but it’s the most probable scenario.
In the second ballot in two single-member constituencies AWPL won hands down, in next two it suffered a heavy defeat and in other two the fight was serious but equal. Have there been any mistakes in the election campaign in the second ballot?
I can’t give you a straight answer. Our staff is going to analyse it deeply but one of the factors was the low attendance in Vilnius district municipality. I mention these strange “coalitions” once again, for example Conservatives supported the Labour Party.
Can you shortly summarise this year’s elections, please?
We are extremely grateful for the given support which is very big. Not every party is able to jump from three seats in the previous parliament to eight in the future one. We are grateful to the Providence and our Lord for the strength during the election campaign.
Tłumaczenie Karolina Rolka w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Karolina Rolka the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.
