VOA标准英语10月-Conservatives Win Lithuania's Ballot for First Ti（在线收听）
With street musicians enthusiastically playing in the capital Vilnius, Lithuania seems a peaceful place. Yet voters tell a different story. Weary of scandals surrounding the ruling Social Democratic Party and fearing rising energy dependence on Russia, many have demonstrated their desire for change.
Official results of Sunday's run-off ballot show that for the first time in nearly a decade, the conservative Homeland Union will return to power in a coalition government.
The outcome is expected to add to the country's tensions with Russia. Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius, has been the most active in portraying Russia as a threat during the election campaign.
Kubilius, who is expected to become the next prime minister, criticized Russia's recent military actions in Georgia and warned that Lithuania could be next. Such statements are taken seriously in Lithuania, which was the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
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| Homeland Union Party leader Andrius Kubilius, second from right, with the leaders of the Liberal Movement, right, the Liberal and Centro Union, left, and the National Resurrection party, second from left, in Vilnius, 27 Oct. 2008 |
Kubilius also wants to re-open talks with the European Union on keeping open the aging Ignalina nuclear power plant, which provides 70 percent of the country's energy needs.
Speaking through an interpreter on Russia Today television, Lithuania's president Valdas Adamkus has already said he supports delaying the closure of the plant till its scheduled replacement in perhaps 2015.
"I have no doubts now that Lithuania would not be able to live without nuclear energy in the future," he said.
Some voters speaking to Russia Today television share his opinion.
"We should only close it when it become unsafe," said one man. "It should stay open for as long as possible."
"If we close it now, we are left with nothing," one woman said. "Of course I am worried."
"Nobody is ready here for any hikes in energy prices," said another voter.
But outgoing Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas has complained his hands are tied as closing the station was a key condition for Lithuania to join the European Union in 2004.
Besides the future of the power plant, the economy will be high on the agenda during expected coalition talks between the Homeland Union and its center right allies.
The projected incoming Prime Minister Kubilius, who is 51, wants to revive an economic boom in the country, where people earn on average of less than $900 a month.
He also backs tax cuts and an eventual launch of the euro currency in 2011 or 2012. But analysts have warned this will be difficult as economic growth is expected to slow sharply because of the global financial crisis and credit crunch.