Labour Party (Lithuania)

The Labour Party (Lithuanian: Darbo Partija, DP) is a social-liberal and populist[3][4][5] political party in Lithuania. The party was founded in 2003 by the Russian-born millionaire businessman Viktor Uspaskich.[6]

Labour Party

Darbo Partija
AbbreviationDP
ChairmanViktor Uspaskich
First Vice ChairmanValentinas Bukauskas
Vice ChairpeopleIngrida Baltušytė-Četrauskienė
Petras Kuizinas
Gitana Markovičienė
Žaneta Simanavičienė
Executive SecretaryIngrida Karpuškaitė
Founded2003
HeadquartersAnkštoji g. 3, Vilnius
Membership12,517 (2018)[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre[2] to centre-left[4]
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament groupRenew Europe
ColoursBlue, White
Seimas
10 / 141
European Parliament
1 / 11
Municipal councils
82 / 1,473
Mayors
1 / 60
Website
www.darbopartija.lt

History

In its first electoral test, the 2004 European parliamentary elections, it was by far the most successful party, gaining 30.2% of the vote and returning 5 MEPs. It joined the European Democratic Party and thus the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group. At the legislative elections of 2004, the party won 28.4% of the popular vote and 39 out of 141 seats, making it the largest single party in the Parliament of Lithuania. After the election Labour formed a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, New Union and Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union.

In June 2006 the party moved to opposition, while some of its members (including Speaker of the Seimas Viktoras Muntianas) founded the Civic Democratic Party and joined the new coalition led by Gediminas Kirkilas. At the legislative elections of 2008 the party lost heavily, retaining only 10 seats in the Seimas from its previous 39 and obtaining 9% of the national vote.

In 2011, the New Union (Social Liberals) merged with the party.[7] In May 2012, the Labour Party joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party.[8]

At the 2012 parliamentary election the party had considerable success, obtaining 19.82% of the votes (+11.83% compared with the 2008 election) in the proportional representation quota and a total tally of 29 seats. Following the results, the Labour Party joined the coalition cabinet led by Algirdas Butkevičius, with 4 portfolio ministers out of 15. In 2013, the Christian Party merged with the party.[9]

At the 2016 parliamentary election the party obtained just 4.88% of the votes in the proportional representation quota (5% of the votes are needed for representation) and won only 2 seats in single member constituencies. In 2017 the party started massively to lose its members (including long–time members like former chairman Živilė Pinskuvienė), which formed various movements in local government or joined the Social Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania in 2018.[10]

On April 15, 2018 former chairman Viktor Uspaskich was selected as the new chairman of the party.[11] After this, the party made speedy recovery – in 2019 municipal election the party obtained 5.09% of the votes and in 2019 European Parliament election it won nearly 9% of the votes. At the 2020 parliamentary election the Labour Party won about 10% of the votes.

Election results

Seimas
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
2004 340,035 (PR) 28.4
39 / 141
 38 1st Coalition (2004−2006)
2008 111,149 (PR) 8.9
10 / 141
 29 6th Opposition
2012 271,520 (PR) 18.8
29 / 141
 19 3rd Coalition
2016 59,620 (PR) 4.8
2 / 141
 27 7th Coalition (2016–2018 and 2018–2019)
2020 110,780 (PR) 9.8
10 / 141
 8 4th Opposition

European Parliament
Election year # of total votes % of overall vote # of seats
2004 363,931 30.16%
5 / 13
2009 48,368 8.56%
1 / 12
2014 146,607 12.38%
1 / 11
2019 112,964 8.54%
1 / 11

Footnotes
  2. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Lithuania". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  3. Ramonaitė, Ainė (2006), "The Development of the Lithuanian Party System: From Stability to Perturbation", Post-Communist EU Member States: Parties And Party Systems, Ashgate, p. 76
  4. Auers, Daunis; Kasekamp, Andres (2015). The impact of radical right parties in the Baltic states. Transforming the Transformation?: The East European radical right in the political process. Routledge. p. 148.
  5. Richard Rose; Neil Munro (1 April 2009). Parties and Elections in New European Democracies. ECPR Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-9558203-2-8.
  6. Saulius A. Suziedelis (7 February 2011). Historical Dictionary of Lithuania. Scarecrow Press. pp. 163–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7536-4.
  7. "Naujoji sąjunga prisijungė prie Darbo partijos". atn.lt (in Lithuanian). 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  8. "Darbo partija tapo Europos liberalų demokratų ir reformų partijos nare". Delfi (in Lithuanian). 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  9. "Susijungė Krikščionių ir Darbo partijos". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 9 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  10. "Partinei sistemai - skaudūs smūgiai, o kritusius įkvepia V. Matijošaičio reitingai". lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). 9 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  11. http://www.ve.lt/naujienos/lietuva/lietuvos-naujienos/darbo-partijos-suvaziavime-staigmenu-nera---pirmininku-isrinktas-viktoras-uspaskichas-1628185/
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