Lithuanians began voting yesterday to elect their president, with “Iron Lady” President Dalia Grybauskaite a shoo-in as fears in the EU Baltic state soar over a resurgent Russia.
The karate black belt, nicknamed for her Thatcheresque resolve, is poised to win a second term, as many here who remember Soviet times see her as a their best hope amid Europe’s worst standoff with Moscow since the Cold War.
A former EU budget chief, the 58-year-old Grybauskaite is likely to score more than 50 percent of the vote, recent opinion surveys showed, but low turnout could trigger a May 25 run-off in this NATO member country.
Six other candidates have all polled about 10 percent and are not regarded as serious rivals.
“If turnout exceeds 50 percent, she has quite a good chance of scoring a first-round victory,” Vilnius University political scientist Ramunas Vilpisauskas told reporters.
A candidate must win half of the votes cast with a turnout of at least 50 percent to win in round one. In 2009, Grybauskaite captured a resounding 69.04 percent of the vote in the seven-candidate first round with turnout at 51.67 percent.
This election comes as Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and saber-rattling in the neighboring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad have sparked palpable fear in Lithuania, a country of 3 million.
Elvyra Vaicaityte, a student living a stone’s throw from Kaliningrad, is spooked by rumblings of military might in the Russian exclave, sandwiched between Lithuania and fellow NATO member, Poland.
“I can hear explosions during exercises and windows often rattle — I don’t feel very secure,” the 23-year-old told reporters in the border town of Vilkaviskis.
Grybauskaite first urged and then welcomed the arrival of US troops last month as NATO stepped up its presence in the Baltic states, which spent five decades under Soviet occupation until 1991.
Lithuania along with Baltic minnows Latvia and Estonia all are keen to see more alliance “boots on the ground” amid the Ukraine crisis.
Grybauskaite has sworn to take up arms herself in case of Russian aggression.
“If there’s a problem, I’ll never flee abroad. I’ll take a gun myself to defend the country if that what’s needed for national security,” she said as campaigning wound down on Thursday.
Aurelija, a 36-year-old Vilnius businesswoman who declined to provide her family name, is impressed by Grybauskaite’s “determination, courage and strength” as national security has become a No. 1 priority.
“In calm times, a hard-line style could be annoying, but that is not the case now. Other candidates are weak opponents,” she told reporters.
Grybauskaite has backed the country’s first liquefied natural gas terminal intended to boost energy security by easing total dependence for gas on Russia’s Gazprom.
She also sees eurozone entry next year as an economic buffer against Moscow.
In contrast to Grybauskaite’s firm line, her center-left and populist rivals insist dialogue with Russia is crucial, and have focused more on social issues.
“We’ll have to seek dialogue with Russia. Any kind of peace is better than a war,” Social Democrat Zigmantas Balcytis said.
Balcytis, a member of the European Parliament, and populist Labor party MP Arturas Paulauskas are her most likely rivals in a possible run-off.
“The Ukraine crisis is an important mobilizing factor, and Grybauskaite’s stern rhetoric is likely to have appeal among center-right voters,” professor Algis Krupavicius said.
“Other candidates are focusing on her mistakes, rather than addressing the atmosphere of foreboding,” Vilnius-based analyst Tomas Janeliunas told reporters.
Augustinas Vizbaras, a 29-year-old Vilnius entrepreneur, says Grybauskaite has his vote. He has also volunteered in a paramilitary unit that was part of Lithuania’s World War II-era anti-Soviet resistance.
“We feel a Russian threat and I felt a civic duty to join the unit so that we prevent a repeat of a Ukraine scenario here,” Vizbaras told reporters.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was