“The motion was signed by our group only. Others are asking why the interpellation is being initiated against him, but not against his family. (&) So we do not have the support of our colleagues,” Paulius Lukševičius, chair of the opposition Conservative group at the Kaunas City council, told ELTA on Friday.
The Social Democrats are considering to propose including Matijošaitis’ sons, members of the council, in the process.
“As we read the invitation to sign, we just wondered why it mentioned only the mayor, because he is just a shareholder, while there are company executives who are sworn in councillors,” said Robertas Kaunas, chair of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) group at the city’s council.
He said his group does not approve of any firm that does its business in “terrorist states.”
“On the legal side, there is not even a technical possibility for the proceedings. Twelve signatures are needed to start the process, the court decides on the proceedings of the interpellation, and this is where it becomes apparent that there is no legal basis for the interpellation, only a moral one,” Kaunas said.
However, he does not rule out the possibility that a pre-trial investigation into Vičiūnai Group’s alleged circumvention of sanctions launched earlier this week could lead to a new impeachment motion.
Meanwhile, the Farmers and Greens Union group said that a successful motion is impossible as long as United Kaunas, led by Matijošaitis, has an absolute majority in the council.