Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija

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Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania
Logo of the LSDP
Party leader Gintautas Paluckas
Secretary General Linas Jonauskas
Deputy Chairman Gediminas Kirkilas , Vilija Blinkevičiūtė , Justas Pankauskas , Povilas Isoda, Rasa Budbergytė , Orinta Leiputė , Raminta Popovienė , Saulius Urbonas, Raminta Bastytė, Algirdas Raslanas , Vaida Aleknavičienė
Honorary Chairman Vytenis Andriukaitis , Algirdas Brazauskas , Česlovas Juršėnas , Aloyzas Sakalas
founding May 1, 1896
Headquarters Vilnius LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania 
Youth organization Social Democratic Youth of Lithuania
Alignment Social democracy
Colours) red
Parliament seats
8/141
( Seimas , 2016 )
Number of members 22,000 (2012)
International connections Socialist International ,
Progressive Alliance
MEPs
2/11
( 2019 )
European party Party of European Socialists (PES)
EP Group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D)
Website www.lsdp.lt

The Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija ( LSDP , Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ) is a political party in Lithuania . The party in its current form came into being in 2001 through the merger of the Lietuvos democinė darbo partija (LDDP, Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania ), the direct successor party of the Lithuanian branch of the CPSU , and the smaller Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija (LSDP), which was founded in 1896. Alongside the conservative Fatherland League, it is the second large and well-established party in the Lithuanian party structure and, just ahead of that, the largest party in the country with 15,600 members.

history

First republic

The first Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) was founded on May 1, 1896 in Vilnius. In 1905 it was able to integrate the Lithuanian branch of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). In 1917/18 representatives of the LSDP took part in the High Council of Lithuania, which was preparing the establishment of an independent Lithuania, and signed the declaration of independence on February 16, 1918 . The LSDP had 12 (of 150) seats in the constitution-giving parliament from 1920-1922. In the following elections in 1922 and 1923 she received 8 and 10 seats and remained in the opposition . After the elections in May 1926, the Social Democrats (15 seats) were able to form a government coalition with the Lithuanian Peasant Party (22 seats). This government was overthrown on December 17, 1926 , and parliament was dissolved. The LSDP existed outside parliament until all parties were banned in Lithuania in 1936. After the Second World War , it continued its work in exile in the USA .

Since 1989

With the end of the communist era in Lithuania, the LSDP was also reorganized in Lithuania. In May 1989 the reestablishment of the LSDP on Lithuanian soil was announced. After the 1990 elections, the LSDP participated in the constitution-giving Seimas in the declaration of independence and the drafting of the new constitution. In the 1992 elections , however, she only achieved 8 seats, in 1996 there were 12 seats. The party was chaired by Kazimieras Antanavičius (1989-1991), Aloyzas Sakalas (1991-1998) and Vytenis Andriukaitis (1998-2001).

In the parliamentary elections in 2000 , the LSDP entered a joint electoral list with the ex-communists from the LDDP and was able to increase to 17 seats. Nevertheless, she initially remained in the opposition. The collaboration with the LDDP that began in the 2000 election campaign led to the unification of the two parties on January 27, 2001 . The smaller LSDP (the LDDP had 27 mandates after the elections and held the government from 1992 to 1996) was able to bring the name into the new association. The new chairman, however, was the previous head of the LDDP, Algirdas Brazauskas .

With the end of Paksa's government in June 2001, the LSDP took over government responsibility in a coalition with the social liberals and Brazauskas became the new prime minister . The LSDP ruled in various coalitions until the parliamentary elections in 2008 . After Algirdas Brazauskas, Gediminas Kirkilas took over the office of prime minister in July 2006 and on May 19, 2007 also the office of party chairman.

In the 2007 local elections, the party received 302 seats (19.5%), making it the strongest party. In the parliamentary elections in 2008 the LSDP suffered severe losses, only received 11.7% of the valid votes and only got 26 of the 141 seats in the Seimas through numerous direct mandates . She has not been in government since then.

At the party congress on March 7, 2009, Gediminas Kirkilas no longer stood for the party chairmanship - officially, so as not to endanger the unity of the party. Former finance minister Algirdas Butkevičius became the new party chairman in a battle vote . He received 329 votes, up from 242 votes for ex-Prime Minister Brazauskas' favorite, Zigmantas Balčytis , and 26 for former party chairman Vytenis Andriukaitis .

The 2009 European elections brought a certain amount of consolidation for the Social Democrats, albeit with a very low turnout. They were 18.6% of the valid votes, the second strongest party behind the Conservatives and thus won three seats in the European Parliament.

In the 2012 parliamentary elections , the LSDP was only the second strongest force behind the Labor Party with 18.4% , but it won the most parliamentary seats with 38 out of 140. Together with the Labor Party, “Order and Justice” and the electoral action of the Poles of Lithuania , it formed a broad coalition government with a majority of 86 out of 140 seats in the Seimas. Party leader Algirdas Butkevičius took over the post of prime minister.

The LSDP put Zigmantas Balčytis up as a candidate in the 2014 presidential election . With 13.83% of the vote, Balčytis reached the runoff election in second place. In this he was unable to prevail against incumbent Dalia Grybauskaitė with 40.92% to 59.08% of the votes . In the European elections , which took place shortly afterwards , the LSDP, with 17.27%, received roughly the same number of votes as the Fatherland League , but only achieved two seats. Vilija Blinkevičiūtė and Zigmantas Balčytis entered the European Parliament for the party.

In the 2016 parliamentary elections , the LSDP received 14.42% of the vote and only 17 out of 140 seats. She was only the third strongest force in the Seimas. Most of the seats were surprisingly won by the Union of Farmers and Greens . Party chairman Butkevičius announced his retirement from the party chairmanship after the election. The LSPD initially entered the government of the new Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis as a junior partner . After Gintautas Paluckas was elected as the new party chairman, the party leadership decided to leave the government coalition in September 2017. A majority of the LSDP Seimas MPs, including the former LSDP Prime Ministers Gediminas Kirkilas and Algirdas Butkevičius , decided to continue to support the government. The parliamentary group then split. The members who resigned from the LSDP group founded the Social Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania (LSDDP) together with former members of the Labor Party in March 2018 .

Chairperson

Known members

National politicians

Member of the European Parliament

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ Party statistics of the state electoral authority, message on delfi.lt, March 2, 2009 (lit.)
  3. ↑ Electoral Commission
  4. ^ Result of the 2009 European elections in Lithuania
  5. ^ Elected Seimas MPs after the 2008 parliamentary elections
  6. ↑ Kirkilas announces at short notice that he is renouncing the chairmanship of the party, report on delfi.lt, March 7, 2009 (lit.)
  7. ^ Election of A. Butkevičius as the new party chairman, report on delfi.lt, March 7, 2009 (lit.)
  8. ^ Result of the 2009 European elections in Lithuania
  9. ^ MEPs from Lithuania in the European Parliament 2009-2014