Reactions after G. Nausėda's Statement: From R. Žemaitaitis - unpleasant remarks about Lithuania's welfare going to Germany in exchange for hopelessly outdated Leopard tanks

 

 

Criticism regarding the acquisition of tanks: R. Žemaitaitis, the leader of the party "Nemunas aušra", has repeatedly criticized Lithuania's decision to purchase German tanks "Leopard 2", calling this deal financially and militarily useless and stating that the funds should be directed to domestic welfare.

 

"On Tuesday, President Gitanas Nausėda delivered his seventh annual address to the Seimas and reviewed the current domestic and foreign policy issues of recent years. The parliamentarians who listened to the speech, which lasted almost an hour, also spoke about it. Some politicians felt that, despite the criticism, G. Nausėda was much softer towards the ruling Social Democrats than towards the previous authorities.

 

At that time, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the chairman of the "Nemunas aušra" party, which was expelled from the coalition, was surprised - he said that part of the address was written by artificial intelligence, because it contained "more fairy tales than facts." In general, according to him, the address sounded like a "valley of tears" - according to the "aušriat", the president complained a lot about not being able to implement various decisions. “The report is like this, I would say... I joked a lot inside with the faction and wrote down – seven years of the Lithuanian president’s rule are lost. The whole report is a kind of a valley of tears, how difficult everything is, how I can’t do anything, how I would like to do it, but I can’t do anything,” R. Žemaitaitis told journalists in the Seimas on Tuesday, holding several sheets of paper in his hands, on which he wrote down notes from the annual report.

 

“We devoted ten minutes to defense, listing numbers, but not a single number is mentioned about education, about health care, not about social security. So if we are talking about a Lithuania of prosperity, where are we creating that Lithuania of prosperity?” – he asked rhetorically.

 

As Lrytas wrote, in his annual report, G. Nausėda criticized not only Gintautas Paluckas, Saulius Skvernelis, and the entire Social Democratic Party, who are embroiled in scandals, but also “Nemunas aušra”.

 

According to R. Žemaitaitis, such words of the president are natural. However, according to the Seimas member, there is little truth in them. “It is natural that he has to wave criticism. Criticism waved at all former coalition partners. This includes the former prime minister of the Social Democrats, Saulius Skvernelis, and “Nemunas aušra”. But, apparently, the president’s artificial intelligence worked a little with the report, because there were more fairy tales than facts,” he said, noting that G. Nausėda spoke too boldly about the huge corruption case in the State Plant Protection Service.”

 

Pasipylė reakcijos po G. Nausėdos pranešimo: iš R. Žemaitaičio – nemalonios replikos apie Lietuvos gerovę, iškeliaujančią į Vokietiją mainais už beviltiškai pasenusius tankus Leopard

 

 

Kritika dėl tankų įsigijimo: Partijos „Nemuno aušra“ lyderis R. Žemaitaitis ne kartą kritikavo Lietuvos sprendimą pirkti vokiškus tankus „Leopard 2“, vadindamas šį sandorį finansiškai bei kariniam pasiruošimui nenaudingu ir teigdamas, kad lėšos turėtų būti nukreiptos vidaus gerovei.

“Antradienį Seime prezidentas Gitanas Nausėda skaitė jau septintąjį metinį pranešimą bei apžvelgė pastarųjų metų vidaus ir užsienio politikos aktualijas. Apie beveik valandą trukusią šalies vadovo kalbą pasisakė ir jos klausę parlamentarai. Daliai politikų pasirodė, kad nepaisant nuskambėjusios kritikos G. Nausėda valdantiesiems socialdemokratams yra gerokai švelnesnis nei buvusioms valdžioms

 

Tuo metu iš koalicijos išprašytos „Nemuno aušros“ pirmininkas Remigijus Žemaitaitis stebėjosi – esą dalį pranešimo rašė dirbtinis intelektas, mat jame „daugiau pasakų, o ne faktų“. Apskritai, anot jo, pranešimas skambėjo tarsi „ašarų pakalnė“ – „aušriečio“ teigimu, prezidentas daug skundėsi, kad negali įgyvendinti įvairių sprendimų. „Pranešimas toks, sakyčiau... Labai pajuokavau viduje su frakcija ir užsirašiau – prarasti septyni metai Lietuvos prezidento valdymo. Visas pranešimas – tokia savotiška ašarų pakalnė, kaip viskas sunku, kaip nieko negaliu padaryti, kaip norėčiau daryti, bet nieko negaliu padaryti“, – antradienį žurnalistams Seime sakė R. Žemaitaitis, rankose laikydamas keletą popieriaus lapų, ant kurių užsirašė pastabas iš metinio pranešimo.

 

„Dešimt minučių skyrėme gynybai, vardijant skaičius, bet nei vieno skaičiaus nekalbama apie švietimą, apie sveikatos apsaugą, nekalbama apie socialinę apsaugą. Tai jeigu mes kalbame apie gerovės Lietuvą, tai kur mes tą gerovės Lietuvą kuriame?“ – retoriškai klausė jis.

 

Kaip rašė Lrytas, metiniame pranešime G. Nausėda pažėrė kritikos ne tik skandaluose įklimpusiems Gintautui Paluckui, Sauliui Skverneliui, visai socialdemokratų partijai, bet ir „Nemuno aušrai“.

 

R. Žemaitaičio teigimu, tokie prezidento žodžiai – natūralūs. Tik, Seimo nario teigimu, teisybės juose yra mažai. „Natūralu, kad jis turi mostelėti kritikos. Kritikos mostelėjo visiems buvusiems koalicijos partneriams. Tai tiek socialdemokratų buvusiam premjerui, tiek Sauliui Skverneliui, tiek „Nemuno aušrai“. Bet, matyt, su pranešimu šiek tiek padirbėjo dirbtinis intelektas pas prezidentą, nes daugiau buvo pasakų, o ne faktų“, – dėstė jis, pastebėdamas, kad G. Nausėda pernelyg drąsiai pasisakė apie milžiniško masto korupcijos bylą Valstybinėje augalininkystės tarnyboje.”

 

When Looking to Rent in Vilnius, the Girl Did Not Expect Such a Selection: The Request She Heard Was Shocking

“The girl who was looking for housing with her significant other was surprised to realize that tenants have to go through a kind of selection. However, what surprised her the most was not the competition for housing, but the unexpected request from the landlord. Specialists note that homeowners carefully select candidates, but emphasize that there are ways to make a good impression and earn trust.

 

“You have to go through a kind of tenant election”

 

“The landlord announced that we would have to move out a month before the end of the lease agreement. When we started looking for new housing, the choice was not very wide. However, an apartment in Baltupiai, right next to the place where we lived before, caught my eye. The apartment was fifty euros more expensive than the previous one, but it had its own advantages,” the girl told the portal “Delfi” about the beginning of her search.

 

She recalled that when she called to arrange an apartment inspection, the first questions were not about the tenants at all, but about other nuances. “Do you have pets? Children? Are you a couple?”, – the landlord immediately asked.

 

“Thank God, I don’t have children or pets, but I do have a couple. Otherwise, I think I wouldn’t have found an apartment by now. The inspection time was offered a few days later – at eight o’clock in the evening. When we arrived to inspect the apartment, we passed by other people looking for housing.

 

After inspecting the apartment, we wanted to reserve it right away or even sign a lease agreement, but we couldn’t do that. It turns out that in order to rent an apartment in Vilnius, you need to go through a kind of tenant election,” – the girl living in Vilnius was surprised.

 

Aureja says she understood that landlords selected tenants based on many criteria, such as children, pets, marital status, work or the expected move-in date.

 

“The most surprising thing was the request to send our social media accounts.

 

Only two out of four applicants were selected, and the social media review was supposed to help make the final decision. However, both my and my boyfriend’s social media are empty. We never got an apartment,” said a resident of the capital who was looking for an apartment.

 

After this failure, she continued looking for an apartment in Baltupiai. This time, everything took a little longer.

 

“After inspecting the apartment, we learned that the landlords were only choosing from two couples. And this time we won the apartment war. True, the victory was not determined by our social networks or resumes, but by the fact that we were able to move in a week earlier than other applicants,” she said.

 

Two real estate brokers working in Vilnius who spoke with Delfi agreed that landlords carefully select people to whom they could rent an apartment, and the most important criteria are family status, having pets, and financial situation.

 

“Personal real estate broker” Sandra Jakulė said that she noticed that, compared to previous years, the rental market has changed.

 

“The number of Lithuanians renting has decreased significantly and the number of inquiries from foreigners has increased significantly. For landlords, the reliability criterion is very important – it is important that a person is truly able to pay so as not to cause trouble for the apartment owner and his neighbors in the future.

 

It is no secret that people from other cultures can behave differently – be much noisier, have a different view of the order of the apartment and the staircase, and the peace of neighbors. Therefore, most tenants prefer to have tenants of their own culture (Lithuanians or foreigners close to our culture) than representatives of a completely different culture. Also, not all landlords know a foreign language, so they are looking for Lithuanians to be able to communicate with them,” S. Jakulė shared her insights.

 

Real estate broker Laurynas Vosylius reiterated that nationality is important to landlords, but even more important is the tenant's financial situation, family situation, and whether there are pets.

 

"In my opinion, it is better to search for a suitable tenant for a few days longer than to later encounter an insolvent or disorderly resident. Most often, I emphasize - most often, but not always, owners make a decision taking into account whether the tenant has pets, small children, or has a stable job. It is also no secret that some owners prefer Lithuanians to foreigners," the real estate specialist commented to Delfi.

 

According to him, the landlord usually chooses from at least several potential tenants: if the rental price corresponds to the market price and the apartment is attractive, it may be possible to rent it out in half a day.

 

“The most popular and sought-after apartments have always been in the central part of the city and the surrounding districts. These are Užupis, Paupys, part of Antakalnis up to the Šilo Bridge, Žvėrynas. In these districts, neat apartments can be rented very quickly,” L. Vosylius shared his observation. “Sometimes half a day is enough, and most often a few days. Šnipiškės is also very popular due to its convenient location, concentration of business centers, developed infrastructure and abundant supply of new construction.”

 

On average, a couple may have to pay 600–700 euros for a standard two-room apartment in Vilnius. It is precisely such an apartment – ​​a two-room apartment, costing 600 euros per month and located in Baltupiai – failed to reach Aureja.

How important is information on social networks

 

As a reader who spoke to Delfi noticed, landlords are also interested in the social networks of potential landlords – not only whether a person has pets or children, but also in their social life in general.

 

“Personally, I have not encountered a situation where a landlord we represent would ask to check the social networks of a potential tenant. However, if the information is publicly available, it can provide additional knowledge about a person. However, much more often landlords are interested in family status – children, pets – even more than income,” commented the real estate broker.

 

However, another interviewed expert seems to have already encountered such a practice.

 

“Most landlords are interested in all possible information about a future tenant, because that information can determine further relations with the tenant and possible consequences. Since there is no other tool to legally verify a person’s reliability than through social networks, it is used very often,” confirmed S. Jakulė.

Tips on how to win over other tenants

 

We asked the real estate brokers we interviewed what advice they would give to a person who is looking for housing for rent in Vilnius today – how to increase the probability that he will be chosen from several applicants?

 

“First, it is politeness. If a person communicates politely and openly, the landlord tends to trust him more. If a person has a pet, he can offer to pay a larger deposit to calm the owner, who is afraid that the pet will cause more losses. If the person is a foreigner, it is advisable to speak Lithuanian. Landlords are often afraid of tenants who speak English (especially unclearly),” S. Jakulė shared her recommendations.

 

L. Vosylius also agreed with this. The real estate broker provided several more tips, following which you may be able to rent the desired apartment.

 

"First, I would suggest providing recommendations from previous homeowners if you have previously rented a home. You should also not be afraid to provide information about your job and financial situation.

 

It is important to understand that the landlord does not know you. He needs to decide whether to let a stranger live in his property. This is not easy, especially if he himself or people around him have had negative experiences with tenants in the past. More landlords are asking for an employment contract and information about creditworthiness, in other words, they check whether a person has no debts. In my opinion, this is good practice. It is more peaceful for the landlord, and for the tenant, who has nothing to hide and can justify his financial stability, it becomes easier to win the competitive battle against other candidates," the real estate broker shared his advice.

 

Another piece of advice is to arrive on time for the home inspection, communicate politely, tactfully and look neat. These are simple human things that sometimes make a big difference.

 

A specialist working in Vilnius said that he has noticed that a two-month deposit is becoming more popular instead of one, so he would suggest that those looking for housing have at least three months' rent: one month's rent in advance and two months' deposit.

 

"When it comes to pets, it must be admitted that a significant number of owners do not want them. This is their choice. Therefore, pet owners must accept that some owners will not consider their candidacy, no matter how neat the pets are. Some owners would rather wait longer and rent the apartment a little cheaper to someone who does not have pets. Therefore, it is especially important for pet owners to have recommendations and provide information about their financial situation.

 

Regarding young children, there is still a stereotype that it is more difficult to evict a family with a child. However, paradoxically, in some cases, families with children or people with pets are even more dutiful and tidy than those who do not have children or pets," he said.”