Lithuania's parliament has confirmed Inga Ruginiene as prime minister following the collapse of the previous government in July over a corruption scandal.
Ruginiene, who was the social security minister in the old government, on Tuesday vowed to continue supporting Ukraine and invest in the country's defence while seeking to reduce inequalities.
But several thousand people staged a demonstration against the new government, with organisers accusing it of including politicians who oppose sanctions against Russia and Belarus as well as anti-vaccine campaigners.
"My biggest dream is to stand in front of you again at the end of my mandate and to say that we have been able to accomplished very important work," Ruginiene, who was only elected as a lawmaker last year, told parliament.
Former Social Democrat prime minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned on August 1 amid an investigation into several companies he was linked with.
The current coalition, led by the LSDP, includes the populist Nemunas Dawn party, the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families, and independent lawmakers.
The centre-left Democrats "For Lithuania" has withdrawn saying it could not work with Nemunas Dawn, whose leader Remigijus Zemaitaitis gave up his parliament seat in 2023 over controversy about alleged anti-Semitic comments but was reelected last year.
President Gitanas Nauseda has backed the new government but told a Lithuanian radio station on Tuesday that including Nemunas Dawn was "a mistake that was difficult to avoid".
Waldemar Tomaszewski, head of the Polish-Christian alliance and a European parliament member, was accused of supporting the Kremlin, but denied the allegations.
One of the independent deputies, Ignas Vegele, made headlines by campaigning against restrictions imposed during the Coronavirus pandemic. He came third in Lithuania's presidential election last year.
