By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania’s parliament voted in favour of Social Democrat Inga Ruginiene’s proposed government platform on Thursday, making her the Baltic country’s new prime minister.
The new centre-right coalition, which took the oath of office immediately after parliament’s vote, was formed after Lithuania’s former government broke down in July over the then-prime minister’s ties to a company owned by a family member.
Ruginiene has said she will maintain Lithuania’s support for Ukraine as well as a pledge to spend 5-6% of gross domestic product on defence over the next several years.
In parliament, 80 of the 141 members backed the new government platform in Thursday’s vote while 40 voted against and two abstained. The remaining members were absent.
Ruginiene, 44, is a member of the ruling Social Democrats party and a former trade union leader who only entered national politics in 2024.
After the sudden resignation in July of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’ cabinet, she reconfigured his coalition and is expected to control 82 seats in the parliament.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, editing by Essi Lehto and Terje Solsvik)
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