I. Hofmanas v. Žemaitaitis. And why communism is not equal to the welfare state (VIDEO)

Last week, something happened that perhaps no one expected. After it became clear that the newly formed coalition „Nemuno aušra“ would nominate the candidacy of the current deputy minister Andrius Palionis for the post of Minister of Agriculture, the previously quite firmly held interim Minister of Agriculture Ignas Hofmanas walked out on the programme of „Žinių radios“, where he said that Žemaitaitis had pressured him on which managers to appoint and fire in the institutions under the ministry's authority.

Thus, I. Hofmanas responded to R. Žemakaitis' argument that the Ministry needs a firmer hand (which is why A. Palionis is suitable for it), because the employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are more concerned with beauty procedures than with the civil service.

The JRC has started an assessment of the information and clarification of the circumstances regarding the possible unlawful influence on the interim Minister of Agriculture. After the questioning, Mr Hofmann had already softened his tone, and the Prime Minister-designate Inga Ruginienė questioned where Mr Hofmann had been for the whole nine months of this process. The President's Office also reproached him, saying that if there had been pressure, he should have reported it to the political leadership and the authorities.

The State Food and Veterinary Service does deserve a lot of criticism, and there have been criticisms of other services. However, the farming community will have to live with the consequences of the political storms and how this agricultural ship will eventually sail on wider waters, with the Prime Minister-designate promising, perhaps, a golden age for workers (a 4-day working week), longer holidays and ever-increasing indexation of pensions.

We talked about all this with Valdemar Jacik, head of „Agrobond“, entrepreneur and social activist, in the traditional Monday chat on „Agrobite play“ channel.

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