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| Lithuania’s New Prime Minister Pledges to Increase Military Spending | Lithuania’s New Prime Minister Pledges to Increase Military Spending |
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| VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lawmakers in Lithuania chose as their new prime minister on Tuesday a former police chief and interior minister who supports Donald J. Trump’s call for NATO members to spend more on defense. | VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lawmakers in Lithuania chose as their new prime minister on Tuesday a former police chief and interior minister who supports Donald J. Trump’s call for NATO members to spend more on defense. |
| The choice of Saulius Skvernelis, 46, to lead the government came a month after an election won by the Peasants and Greens Union in a populist whirlwind. The party is hard to classify; it is an unorthodox grouping of farmers and environmentalists that leans left on economic issues but to the right on social issues. | The choice of Saulius Skvernelis, 46, to lead the government came a month after an election won by the Peasants and Greens Union in a populist whirlwind. The party is hard to classify; it is an unorthodox grouping of farmers and environmentalists that leans left on economic issues but to the right on social issues. |
| Other populist politicians in Europe, like Marine Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Frauke Petry in Germany, oppose the European Union, but the Peasants and Greens favor membership in the union, which Lithuania joined in 2004. The party strongly supports maintaining the sanctions imposed by the European Union after Russia’s 2014 military incursion in Ukraine. | Other populist politicians in Europe, like Marine Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Frauke Petry in Germany, oppose the European Union, but the Peasants and Greens favor membership in the union, which Lithuania joined in 2004. The party strongly supports maintaining the sanctions imposed by the European Union after Russia’s 2014 military incursion in Ukraine. |
| In some ways, Lithuania is in a comparable situation to neighboring Poland, where a right-wing government took power last year. Poland’s new leaders are leery of the West, but also of Mr. Trump’s overtures toward the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. | In some ways, Lithuania is in a comparable situation to neighboring Poland, where a right-wing government took power last year. Poland’s new leaders are leery of the West, but also of Mr. Trump’s overtures toward the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. |
| Lithuania’s foreign minister, Linas Linkevicius, said last week that he was “very afraid” for the Baltic States — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — which sit along NATO’s increasingly tense frontier with Russia. He expressed concern that Russia might try to test the United States before Mr. Trump takes office as president on Jan. 20. | Lithuania’s foreign minister, Linas Linkevicius, said last week that he was “very afraid” for the Baltic States — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — which sit along NATO’s increasingly tense frontier with Russia. He expressed concern that Russia might try to test the United States before Mr. Trump takes office as president on Jan. 20. |
| During the American election campaign, Mr. Trump called on NATO members to spend more for their collective security and rely less on the United States. Members are supposed to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on their military, but only the United States, Britain, Greece, Poland and Estonia do so now. | During the American election campaign, Mr. Trump called on NATO members to spend more for their collective security and rely less on the United States. Members are supposed to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on their military, but only the United States, Britain, Greece, Poland and Estonia do so now. |
| Mr. Skvernelis said in a statement after his election on Tuesday that Lithuania would join them. | Mr. Skvernelis said in a statement after his election on Tuesday that Lithuania would join them. |
| “We are ready to increase financing for our military up to 2 percent by the end of 2017 — 2018 at the latest,” he said. “On top of that, we will increase spending on interior security systems, such as border control, civil defense and intelligence services.” | “We are ready to increase financing for our military up to 2 percent by the end of 2017 — 2018 at the latest,” he said. “On top of that, we will increase spending on interior security systems, such as border control, civil defense and intelligence services.” |
| He said his government had “full trust in the United States, as well as other partners in NATO.” The European Union’s sanctions should be relaxed only when there is “real progress on the ground from Russia’s side,” he said, but so far, the involvement of Russian forces in Georgia and Ukraine “does not imply willingness to cooperate in a neighborly spirit.” | He said his government had “full trust in the United States, as well as other partners in NATO.” The European Union’s sanctions should be relaxed only when there is “real progress on the ground from Russia’s side,” he said, but so far, the involvement of Russian forces in Georgia and Ukraine “does not imply willingness to cooperate in a neighborly spirit.” |
| Unlike the more prosperous countries of northwestern Europe, Lithuania worries about emigration, not immigration. Young people leave in search of jobs and higher living standards, and the population has been falling. The Peasants and Greens Union promised to stem the exodus by emphasizing the nation’s cultural heritage, luring investment to rural areas, and cleaning up corruption, especially in the health and defense ministries. | Unlike the more prosperous countries of northwestern Europe, Lithuania worries about emigration, not immigration. Young people leave in search of jobs and higher living standards, and the population has been falling. The Peasants and Greens Union promised to stem the exodus by emphasizing the nation’s cultural heritage, luring investment to rural areas, and cleaning up corruption, especially in the health and defense ministries. |
| Mykolas Majauskas, 34, a new lawmaker from the Homeland Union party, said the country’s political establishment bore much of the blame for the populist wave in the election last month. | Mykolas Majauskas, 34, a new lawmaker from the Homeland Union party, said the country’s political establishment bore much of the blame for the populist wave in the election last month. |
| “People are clearly disappointed, and want someone to come in and make a change,” he said. | “People are clearly disappointed, and want someone to come in and make a change,” he said. |
| Mr. Skvernelis, the new prime minister, is viewed by some as the public face of a more powerful figure, Ramunas Karbauskis, the businessman who financed the Peasants and Greens Union. | Mr. Skvernelis, the new prime minister, is viewed by some as the public face of a more powerful figure, Ramunas Karbauskis, the businessman who financed the Peasants and Greens Union. |
| Mazvydas Jastramskis, a political scientist at Vilnius University, said that the new prime minister was “partly a mystery” even for seasoned political observers. “Lithuanians’ trust in the business sector is not that high, but they trust people who are seen as successful,” he said, referring to Mr. Karbauskis. |