Lithuania's Social Democrats vote to expel Nemunas Dawn from coalition, court 'For Lithuania' as new partner
Lithuania's ruling Social Democratic Party (LSDP) voted on Saturday 6 June to remove the populist Nemunas Dawn party from the governing coalition and to seek a replacement partner in the centre-right Union of Democrats '.
At a glance
- The LSDP voted on 6 June 2026 to remove Nemunas Dawn (Dawn of Nemunas) from Lithuania's governing coalition
- The Social Democrats plan to replace it with the Union of Democrats 'For Lithuania' to retain a Seimas majority
- Nemunas Dawn leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis was convicted in December of incitement to hatred against Jews and belittling the Holocaust
- In May Nemunas Dawn opposed a government plan for new military training grounds near the Belarus border, and Žemaitaitis's premises were searched in a fraud probe
VERDICT — CONFIRMED
Lithuania's ruling Social Democratic Party (LSDP) voted on Saturday 6 June to remove the populist Nemunas Dawn party from the governing coalition and to seek a replacement partner in the centre-right Union of Democrats 'For Lithuania' to preserve the government's slim majority in the Seimas. LSDP chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the party had been patient but that Nemunas Dawn's chairman was 'getting more radical, while the country needs stability.' Nemunas Dawn founder and leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis was found guilty in December by a Vilnius court of incitement to hatred against Jews and of belittling the Holocaust over social media posts.
Tensions escalated in May, when Nemunas Dawn voted against a government plan to establish new military training grounds near the border with Belarus, and Lithuania's financial crimes authority searched Žemaitaitis's premises as part of a fraud investigation. The Social Democrats lead a three-party coalition that has governed with a narrow parliamentary margin, and LRT reported the move triggers a broader government reshuffle as the new line-up is negotiated.
Why it matters
by amputating its most toxic partner mid-term, Lithuania's governing left trades short-term parliamentary risk for stability ahead of NATO-frontline defence decisions, testing whether a reconfigured centre-left/centre-right coalition can hold a workable Seimas majority.
Key facts on file
- The LSDP voted on 6 June 2026 to remove Nemunas Dawn (Dawn of Nemunas) from Lithuania's governing coalition
- The Social Democrats plan to replace it with the Union of Democrats 'For Lithuania' to retain a Seimas majority
- Nemunas Dawn leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis was convicted in December of incitement to hatred against Jews and belittling the Holocaust
- In May Nemunas Dawn opposed a government plan for new military training grounds near the Belarus border, and Žemaitaitis's premises were searched in a fraud probe
