Lithuanian Nationalist Union

The Lietuvių tautininkų sąjunga (LTS, literally German: Confederation of Lithuanian nationalists ) was a conservative nationalist political party in Lithuania.

First Republic (1924-1940)

The term " tautininkai " ( " nationalists " or " Völkische " ) and the subsequent party name goes back to the same party in the First Republic, in their tradition, the current LTS looks. The LTS of the First Republic was created as a successor party, the Progressive Party of the people merged ( Lithuanian Tautos pažangos partija ), which in August 1924 with the economic and political union of agricultural workers ( Lithuanian Ekonominės ir politinės žemdirbių sąjunga ). The most important representative of the party was Antanas Smetona, who had led the Progressive Party from 1920 to 1924 and from 1925 to 1926 Chairman of the LTS was.

The LTS was the political representation of national conservative -minded forces that built up a strong army and a strong leader. All power should come from the people and the people will be expressed in a guide. In contrast to the Christian they were less closely connected with the Catholic Church and more oriented to the traditional pre-Christian folk culture.

The nationalists organized together with the Christian Democrats in December 1926 coup in parliament and elected Smetona the new president, his party comrade Augustinas Voldemaras was appointed Prime Minister. After the dissolution of Parliament in April 1927 and the departure of the Christian Democrats in the coalition of the ruling authoritarian President Smetona occupied all the offices with party members from the LTS. After the takeover by the Communists, the LTS was banned on 19 June 1940.

Since 1989

With the democratic opening of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev began in Lithuania, to regroup the parties of the First Republic. A first step towards the revival of the LTS was a letter of intent for re- establishment of the LTS in March 1989, which was then registered as a political party on 23 February 1990, shortly after the elections to the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania. In August 1990, adopted at the first party meeting program and statutes and on December 29, 1990 were 12 members of the Seimas, who had been elected as a candidate of the Independence Movement Sąjūdis to parliament, the independent fraction of the " Nationalists ".

By the end of 1991 it came to a split of the LTS fraction, the under half of the deputies in January 1992, the Group, and in May of the same year the party of the Progressive Party of the People ( see above) founded. In the first general elections of the newly independent Lithuania in October 1992, the LTS together with the Independence Party came under their name ( Lithuanian Nepriklausomybės partija ) and the Union of Farmers of Lithuania ( Lithuanian Lietuvos ukininkų sąjunga ) to, but could barely 2 % of the votes unite. So you missed the 5 % hurdle clear and received only 4 seats that could win them as direct mandates.

For the next parliamentary elections in 1996 formed the " Tautininkai " a list associated with the Democratic Party. However, they came together again only to 2%, it remained nurmehr 1 direct mandate for the LTS.

The following local and state elections ended for the LTS always with results also ran: she never received more than 1.2% and was not a direct mandate in the Seimas win more. Only the city Akmenė was ruled from 1997 to 2007 by a mayor of the LTS.

Based on the previous party of the First Republic, the LTS also looks after its re-establishment as guardian of the Lithuanian language and culture, and the Lithuanian independence. It stands for a free market economy and propagated independent entrepreneurship, on the other hand, it stands up for a strong government health care and an increase in pensions. In the summer of 2005 she participated in a ( unsuccessful ) initiative for a referendum against a possible introduction of the euro.

In December 2007, the decision was taken to join the Conservatives of federal homeland. This decision was taken on 11 March 2008, the Lithuanian National Day celebrating the restoration of independence, carried out. Since then, the act " Tautininkai " as the same faction within the fatherland Federal. Two of their members were elected in the parliamentary elections in October 2008, the parliament: the last chairman of the party, Gintaras Songaila, and Casimir Uoka.