Saturday, June 27, 2009

An excellent article

One of my favorite journalists who write about the Baltics - Edward Lucas - has come up with an excellent overview of the last 20 years in the Baltic region. Enjoy!
http://edwardlucas.blogspot.com/2009/06/foreign-policy-magazine-1.html

Monday, June 8, 2009

The election to the EU Parliament

The voter turnout was low in Lithuania, but in my opinion the voters did not punish the ruling party. The Conservatives (Tėvynes Sąjunga/Lietuvos Konservatoriai) won 4 seats and are the party that performed the best. Some analysits were quick to point out that the opposition parties combined gained more seats - but to me the argument sounds hollow - the ruling coalition is driven by the Conservatives and if people wanted to punish the existing government they would not have voted for them. Among people elected from other parties are some 'spicy' personalities: an impeached ex-president Rolandas Paksas, former Vilnius mayor anti-gay Juozas Imbrasas and a man suspected of tax evasion (investigation postponed due to his MP status) millionaire Viktor Uspaskikh. Well, this is democracy, so let us wish good luck and productive years at the EP to all of them.