"I have expressed my views regarding Mr Žemaitaitis. They have not changed. I do not see a possibility for Mr Žemaitaitis to work in the Government," said Nausėda.
According to the head of state, if the Nemunas Dawn leader were to become a minister, this would cause serious problems with the implementation of "active and effective foreign policy".
In addition, Nausėda said the Social Democratic Party (LSDP) itself chose the Nemunas Dawn as a coalition partner in order to have enough votes for the appointment of LSDP’s Gintautas Paluckas as prime minister and "to avoid unpleasant surprises".
Furthermore, Nausėda vowed to intervene if coalition talks stall during the weekend.
"Time is ticking and the process must not become so protracted that the Lithuanian people would no longer understand what the parties are bargaining about altogether. They should negotiate on forming an active ruling majority and a stable Government. This is the goal," said Nausėda.
The president added that he spoke to Social Democratic leader MEP Vilija Blinkevičiūtė who is engaged in talks.
"Ms Blinkevičiūtė is indeed forming the coalition. Everything is fine. They are holding talks together with colleagues. She has not disappeared anywhere. We are in touch with Ms Blinkevičiūtė and other Social Democratic leaders," said Nausėda.
During the parliamentary election campaign MEP Blinkevičiūtė, the LSDP’s leading candidate, promised to become the prime minister but afterwards announced that she would continue working in the European Parliament instead. The LSDP then nominated Gintautas Paluckas for the prime minister’s post. Some social media users commenting about the political developments started using the hashtag „where is Vilija“ as a result.
On Friday, 8 November, prime minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas announced that the LSDP has agreed to create a coalition with Democrats For Lithuania and the Nemunas Dawn, which would have a total of 86 out of 141 seats in the Seimas.