Valkiūnas decided to become a non-attached MP instead. He also promised to leave the Labour Party citing „a lack of political ambitions“.
„Leader Andrius Mazuronis has so to speak fled. There is no leadership, there is no coherence, there are no accomplishments, there are no results. To be at the bottom the entire time, in the second league, to be outsiders, what is the point?“ Valkiūnas told ELTA.
The politician did not rule out that the Labour Party might find another MP who would join its political group. Valkiūnas did not comment on his upcoming political plans or if he is going to join a different political party, yet he confirmed participation in October’s parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, Labour Party’s former leader Andrius Mazuronis said that a day earlier Valkiūnas praised the Labour Party and spoke out against a merger with the Lithuanian Regions’ Party.
Mazuronis accused Valkiūnas of destroying the Labour Party’s political group and possibly the party itself.
Mazuronis stepped down as chairman of the Labour Party after it failed to win any seats in elections to the European Parliament on 9 June. Valentinas Bukauskas has become the acting chairman.
Months earlier, MPs Vigilijus Jukna and Ieva Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė departed from the party, followed by Viktoras Fiodorovas who left after European elections.
The Labour Party considered a merger with the Regions’ Party, but on 17 June decided that it will participate in parliamentary elections on its own and will not unite forces with other parties.
On 29 March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced that together with the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) they were conducting a pre-trial investigation into a suspected fraud involving a former assistant of a Lithuanian Member of the European Parliament.
The party’s founder, MEP Viktor Uspaskich, suspended his membership following law enforcement’s raid in the Labour Party’s headquarters.