Life Logic Party of Lithuania
{{Short description|Political party in Lithuania (1996–2009)}}
{{Infobox political party
|country = Lithuania
| name = Life Logic Party of Lithuania
|native_name = Lietuvos gyvenimo logikos partija
|leader = {{interlanguage link|Vytautas Bernatonis|lt}}
|foundation = {{End date|1996|08|14}}
|dissolved = {{End date|2009|09|26}}
|merged = New Union (Social Liberals)
|ideology = Anti-establishment
Populism
|headquarters = 28-10 Architektų g., Vilnius
}}
The Life Logic Party of Lithuania ({{langx|lt|Lietuvos gyvenimo logikos partija}}) was a minor political party in Lithuania with an unclear political orientation.{{cite web |title=M.Murza pašalintas iš Gyvenimo logikos partijos |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/mmurza-pasalintas-is-gyvenimo-logikos-partijos.d?id=261943 |website=Delfi |language=Lithuanian |date=2001-04-05}} It is primarily known for being the target of a takeover attempt by Mindaugas Murza, Lithuanian neo-nazi politician, in 2001.
History
The Life Logic Party was founded by former Mayor of Vilnius {{interlanguage link|Vytautas Bernatonis|lt}} in 1996 and participated in the 1996 Lithuanian parliamentary election, in which it received 3,361 votes, or 0.26% of the total vote.{{cite web |title=1996 Parliamentary Elections |url=http://www2.essex.ac.uk/elect/database/indexElections.asp?country=LITHUANIA&election=lt96 |website=University of Essex |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403003319/http://www2.essex.ac.uk/elect/database/indexElections.asp?country=LITHUANIA&election=lt96 |archive-date=2015-04-03 |date=2002-12-02}} Afterwards, it became absent from the political scene. The party's chairman, Bernatonis, ran as a candidate for the {{ill|Lithuanian People's Union "For a Just Lithuania"|lt|Už teisingą Lietuvą}}, a heterodox alliance of socialist, far-right, Christian democratic and populist parties with a common platform of opposition to influence of Western intelligence services and business oligarchs, in the 2000 Lithuanian parliamentary election.{{cite web |title=Vytautas Bernatonis |url=https://www.vrk.lt/statiniai/puslapiai/n/rinkimai/20001008/kandvl.htm-154190.htm |website=Supreme Electoral Commission of Lithuania}}
In 2000, followers of Mindaugas Murza, leader of the neo-nazi movement in Lithuania who was seeking to legalize his activities after the Ministry of Justice refused their registration, chose the Life Logic Party for entryism due to its small size and inactivity. On 10 December 2000, 400 neo-nazis, including Murza himself, joined the party and immediately formed a majority of the party's members. The Nazi eagle and the "cross of crosses" became official symbols of the party and Murza's followers began organizing protests.{{cite book |first=Giedrius |last=Kiaulakis |chapter=Lithuania |title=Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe |editor-first=Cas |editor-last=Mudde |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNp6CAlMMcUC&pg=PA122 |pages=122–125 |isbn=0-203-00-237-7 |publisher=Routledge |year=2005}} However, in April 2001, Murza was expelled from the party by Bernatonis and his followers soon defected to the National Democratic Party of Lithuania.{{cite web |title=M.Murza pašalintas iš Gyvenimo logikos partijos |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/mmurza-pasalintas-is-gyvenimo-logikos-partijos.d?id=261943 |website=Delfi |language=Lithuanian |date=2001-04-05}}
Bernatonis suspended his membership in the party in 2002 and ran as an independent candidate in the 2002–03 Lithuanian presidential election.{{cite web |title=Kandidatų į prezidentus gretas papildė V.Bernatonis |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/kandidatu-i-prezidentus-gretas-papilde-vbernatonis.d?id=1543356 |website=Delfi |language=Lithuanian |date=2002-11-06}} He campaigned on expanding the powers of the President of Lithuania and delaying Lithuania's accession to the European Union and NATO.{{cite web |last1=Antanavičius |first1=Ugnius |title=Keisčiausi kandidatai ir įtempčiausios kovos: 15 įdomių faktų iš praėjusių prezidento rinkimų |url=https://www.15min.lt/gyvenimas/naujiena/ar-zinai/keisciausi-kandidatai-ir-itempciausios-kovos-15-idomiu-faktu-is-praejusiu-prezidento-rinkimu-1634-1141778 |website=15min.lt |language=Lithuanian |date=2019-05-10}} He received 3,121 votes, or 0.25% of the vote.{{cite web |title=1-ojo rinkimų turo balsavimo rezultatai |url=https://www.vrk.lt/statiniai/puslapiai/rinkimai/2002/Prezidentas/rezultatai/rezl.htm-14+1.htm |website=Supreme Electoral Commission of Lithuania}}
The party merged into the New Union in 2009. By then, the Supreme Electoral Commission had not received any reports from the party on its activities and membership for several years.{{cite web |title=Prie Naujosios sąjungos prisijungė dvi "nykštukinės" partijos |url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/prie-naujosios-sajungos-prisijunge-dvi-nykstukines-partijos-56-57835 |website=15min.lt |language=Lithuanian |date=2009-09-26}}
Political program
In its 1996 electoral program, the party aligned itself with the idea of "life logic" and "common sense", and called to educate citizens of Lithuania in constitutional law, electoral law, and that "the opinions of 75 percent of voters are ignored by legislators". It promised to liquidate corruption, provide all citizens with work, perform an audit of the privatization process in Lithuania and attract foreign investments. It did not have a clear political orientation and primarily resorted to populist appeals.{{cite news |title=Partijų, politinių organizacijų, jų koalicijų rinkiminės programos |work=Lietuvos aidas |issue=203 |date=16 October 1996}}