Vilkaitis' resignation marks the fifth change in the Cabinet of this government, which is only halfway through its term.

VILNIUS — Embattled Minister of Culture Remigijus Vilkaitis will finally leave his post after tendering his resignation letter, a move his party had been expecting since April.

His party turned on him suddenly in April while he was out of the country on business and forced him into a belated resignation. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius was skeptical at first, but has now accepted Vilkaitis’ letter of resignation.

“He [Kubilius] is very grateful for his work and admires him personally and as a member of culture. He is sad that he is leaving, but because of the configuration of the coalition, he had to accept the minister’s resignation,” Kubilius’ spokesman Virginijus Valentinavičius told Baltic Reports.

Vilkaitis is the fifth change in the Cabinet of this government, which is only halfway through its term.

The most likely candidate to take over the position is culture academic Arūnas Gelūnas. He was informally approved by the president before being given the nod by the coalition.

“Kubilius has made all the political arrangements needed for Gelūnas to be introduced into the coalition and now we are just waiting for the president [to approve him]. I think by next week we will have the new minister,” Valentinavičius said.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė needs to formally approve the candidate for the Minister of Culture’s position.

He was the third candidate put forward by the National Resurrection Party.

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