Seimas speaker sees Grubliauskas’ intent to run for Klaipėda mayor as harsh pragmatism

Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen says that the intention of Klaipėda City Mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas to run for mayor again, only with the Social Democrats this time, shows the politician’s blatant pragmatism. The Seimas speaker has no doubt that Grubliauskas, who considers himself a liberal, feels unease about his joining the ranks of the Social Democrats.

“Mayor Grubliauskas has had nothing to do with the Liberal Movement since 2018. I think that his decision shows a rather harsh pragmatism. It seems to me that even the mayor himself is struggling to find the words to explain his decision to go with the Social Democrats,” the Seimas speaker told LRT Radio on Wednesday, adding that he probably feels uncomfortable to be in this situation himself.