Vytautas Sustauskas, 55, seen as a considerably eccentric Lithuanian politician and anti-Semite by many, was elected Kaunas mayor on April 13.

Sustauskas emphasized his hatred for corruption. He also called on municipality employees to be brave in expressing their opinions contradicting his own views. Sustauskas said that he will abolish all restrictions on street demonstrations in the city center and will care about the energy sector of Kaunas. His party, the Lithuanian Freedom Union, won the municipal elections in Kaunas on March 20, though he did not gain an absolute majority of seats in the Kaunas council. The Freedom Union did no election campaigning. It did not publish a single poster. However, Sustauskas' party was known for its former street protests and for its ability to grab headlines. Sustauskas never spoke about Lithuania's membership in NATO and the European Union -usually beloved themes of Lithuanian politicians. His favorite theme is social justice. On April 6 the first meeting of the council of Kaunas did not elect its mayor since neither of the two candidates -Sustauskas and Gediminas Zemaitis of the New Union (Social Liberals) -gained the majority of the vote. On April 13 Sustauskas was elected mayor by votes of his Freedom Union, the New Union and tiny nationalistic faction "Young Lithuania."