Simas Nekrošius
Simas Nekrošius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Social Affairs and Employment | |
| Assumed office 28 June 2019 | |
| Chancellor | Otto von Hößlin |
| Preceded by | Adolf Grönsfelder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 December 1957 Šilokrautė, Ruttland, Werania |
| Political party | DA (2010-present) SDT (1986-2010) SDRP-DS (1982-1985) DS (1977-1982) |
| Spouse | Jadvyga Valinskienė |
| Alma mater | University of Lipliškės Šilokrautė University |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Werania |
| Service/ | Army |
Simas Nekrošius (born 13 December 1957) is a Ruttish-Weranian politician and former presenter who is the incumbent Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and a member of the Volkstag since the 2007 general election originally being elected as a member of the Sotirian Democratic Homeland (SDT) before switching to the Democratic Alternative (DA) prior to the 2011 general election.
Prior to his career in politics Nekrošius was a journalist as well as a television presenter, being a opinion writer for the centre-right paper Tageskorrespondent. He later became the host of RFO's Political Review television show from 2002-2006 and garnered a reputation of being an incisive interviewer.
In 2007 Nekrošius announced he was stepping down as host of Political Review in order to run for a seat in the Volkstag on a SDT ticket, being elected in his native Ruttland. He was one of the few SDT representatives to vote against a coalition government with Rasa Šalaševičiūtė and in 2010 left the party to join the Democratic Alternative. Nekrošius was re-elected in 2011, 2015 and 2019 whilst continuing to write opinion pieces in the Tageskorrespondent. In 2019 he was appointed as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the NKP-DA coalition government leading to him to retire from writing in the Tageskrorrespondent.
Early life and education
Nekrošius was born in Šilokrautė in Ruttland to a single mother in 1957. An only child Nekrošius never met his father whilst his mother worked as a typist. Up until the age of seven he was raised by his grandparents - his grandfather Jonas Nekrošius was an electrician and left-wing trade union activist, being a member of the Ruttish Section of the Workers' International. Nekrošius described his early childhood as being tough but instilled in him the principles of hard work and ingenuity. In 1965 his mother re-married to a paper salesman leading to Nekrošius to move with his new family to Lipliškės and in 1967 his half-sister was born.
In 1975 Nekrošius left school to serve in the Weranian Army as part of his national service serving in the infantry. In 1977 Nekrošius exited the army to go to university after passing examinations, attending the University of Lipliškės studying business, graduating in 1981 with a bachelors degree in Business Management. After leaving university Nekrošius worked as a marketing manager for a construction company whilst undertaking a post-graduate course in journalism at Šilokrautė University.
From 1977 to 1985 Nekrošius was a member of the Ruttish Labour Union (DS) and its successor organisation the Social Democratic Radical Party-Labour Union (SDRP-DS). He left the party in 1985 due to opposition to the SDRP-DS's economic policies after re-entering government in 1984. He subsequently joined the Sotirian Democratic Homeland albeit his membership was during the 1980's largely inactive.
Media career
In 1984 Nekrošius was hired for the daily Ruttish paper the Tribune (Tribūna) working as its business correspondent. He left the paper in 1987 after being hired as the Euclean reporter for the larger Weranian paper the Tageskorrespondent. At the Tageskorrespondent Nekrošius garnered a reputation for sharp criticism of the Euclean Community (referring to the organisation as being a "Gaullican Empire if war crimes were substituted for insurmountable bureaucracy") and the Weranian government under Ludolf Ostermann and Wolfgang Löscher. With his columns becoming popular in 1996 the Tageskorrespondent gave him a opinion column in their Ruttish and Weranic language papers.
In 1999 Nekrošius was one of the few right-wing commentators not to endorse the NKP at the federal election that year, instead urging for a vote for the SDT in Ruttland and the Democratic Alternative (DA) in the rest of Werania. According to Nekrošius this would ensure that a NKP government would "appeal to the right rather then the left". During this period he often appeared as a guest interviewee on political talk shows articulating right-wing causes.
In 2002 Nekrošius was hired by public broadcaster RFO as the host of Political Review. His appointment to the show, considered one of RFO's flagship political commentary shows, attracted controversy due to Nekrošius's right-wing views. RFO chairman Kurt von Westphalen defended the choice saying that Nekrošius was an "effective interviewer and sharp political mind" and that all RFO employees are required to be non-partisan in their RFO activities, a fact Nekrošius was "very well aware of". Nekrošius himself said he would endeavour to be non-biased in his presentation and added that the "common public knowledge of my political views means viewers will easily be able to tell if any bias comes through".
As the Political Review host Nekrošius gained a reputation for his incisive interviewing style. In 2006 Nekrošius announced he would step down as the host of the Political Review in order to get involved in active politics, stating he was exploring the possibility of running for a seat in the Volkstag on a SDT ticket. Nekrošius continued however to write for the Tageskorrespondent.
Political career
Volkstag member
Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
Political views
Nekrošius has often been described as being a populist conservative, although he has disputed the use of the former term. Nekrošius has described himself as being supportive of laissez-faire economics, anti-immigration and hard Euclospectism.
In 2006 Nekrošius called for the privatisation of the Weranic welfare system, calling the existing structure "socialist nonsense". He also called for health and education systems to be restructured to be made more competitive and profitable in order to maximise efficiency and innovation. Following his appointment as Minister of Social Affairs Nekrošius stated that a full privatisation of the welfare system was "untenable" but that he would work towards making it "more targeted, more based on a profit model in order to ensure a shift to a low-welfare, low-tax and high wage economy."
A sharp critic of the Euclean Community Nekrošius has called for the abolition of the Euclo, accusing the currency of "exacerbating financial crisis's as well as limiting the government's fiscal space when responding to financial downturns". He has also stated free-movement is a "backdoor for terrorism and cultural prostitution" and called greater restrictions on immigration within and outside the EC. Nekrošius in 2016 stated if there was a referendum to leave the Euclean Community that he would vote to leave, albeit stressed reform of EC institutions was more important and viable. Upon his appointment as a Minister Nekrošius said he would support the government's Euclean policy provided greater integration was avoided.
Nekrošius has stated he is sceptical that human actions have a noticeable effect on climate change and accused environmentalist activists of attempting "socialism through the backdoor of so-called climate regulations". In 2018 Nekrošius called for money spent on combating climate change to be spent instead on the army.
In 2003 Nekrošius said an independent Ruttland was "preferable" if the Weranic government endorsed closer EC or centralist integration. However in 2012 Nekrošius clarified his stance stating that he would rather Ruttland remain in Werania provided its current autonomy was respected.