The Way of Courage ( lt, Drąsos Kelias) is a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It was founded in 2012 and has an anti-

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

platform.

History

The party was established by supporters of Drąsius Kedys, who claimed that justice officials had whitewashed a ring of pedophiles after his daughter had been sexually molested. Kedys died under unclear circumstances in 2010. Among the party's founders is Neringa Venckienė, sister of Drąsius Kedys and former judge. The party's name alludes to Kedys' first name ''Drąsius'' which means "the brave". The goals include changes in the justice system, e.g. the establishment of trial by jury. In 2012 parliamentary election the party gained approximately 8% of the popular vote. The party had its best performance in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

and

Kaunas District Municipality Kaunas District Municipality (''Kauno rajono savivaldybė'') is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kaunas, which does not belong to the municipality but is a separate administrative unit. It surroun ...

. After the party's leader Neringa Venckiene applied for asylum in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, many party members decided not to participate in the future elections because of the "exile" of their leader. The party's chairman is

Jonas Varkala Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of t ...

, a former Catholic priest, who officially left the church in February 2012. He was a constant critic of the ethics of the leaders of the church, particularly in regards to sexual abuse of children. In 2014 with impeachment of Neringa Venckienė and Valdas Vasiliauskas moving to the

Order and Justice Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

parliamentary group, the party's parliamentary group was dissolved as it had less than 7 members. In 2016 the party won just over 1 per cent of the votes and lost all representatives in parliament.

Member of Seimas (2012–2016)

* Neringa Venckiene (born 1971), (MP until 2014, Impeached), Judge *

(born 1951), Priest *

Aurelija Stancikienė Aurelia (also spelled Aurelía, Aurélia or Aurelija) is a feminine given name from the Latin family name Aurelia (gens), Aurelius, which was derived from ''aureus'' meaning "golden". The name began from minor early saints but was given as a name d ...

(born 1966), Architect *

Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas (28 September 1943 — 3 April 2015) was a Lithuanian politician, dissident, poet, writer. In 1990 he was among those who signed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Patackas died on 3 April ...

(born 1943), (MP until 2015, Died), Signer of the Lithuanian Declaration of Independence * Dr. Vytautas Antanas Matulevičius (born 1952), Journalist * Prof.

Povilas Gylys Povilas is a Lithuanian masculine given name and may refer to: * Povilas Aksomaitis (1938–2004), Lithuanian engineer, politician, and signatory of the 1990 Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania * Povilas Budrys (born 1962), Lithu ...

(born 1948), Economist * Valdas Vasiliauskas (born 1951), Journalist * Prof. dr. Gintaras Aleknonis (born 1961), (refused to be sworn in), Journalist. * Prof.

Stasys Brundza Stasys is a popular Lithuanian given name, derived from Slavic name Stanislav. Feminine variation is Stasė. *Stasys Antanas Bačkis (1906–1999), Lithuanian diplomat *Stasys Eidrigevičius (born 1949), graphic artist *Stasys Girėnas (1893–193 ...

(born 1947), (MP from 2014), Economist *

Audrius Nakas Audrius Nakas (born 1967) is a Lithuanian politician and a former member of the Seimas. He graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and worked as an actor before a career in politics. Nakas was sworn into the parliament on 14 Ap ...

(born 1967), (MP from 2015), Actor

Political ideology

The party is considered populist. It contained a mix of political beliefs. Jonas Varkala and Algirdas Patackas were the conservative members of the party, whhile Vytautas Matulevičius was a liberal and one of the first Lithuanian politicians to support

same-sex partnerships A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

.https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/parlamentaras-vytautas-matulevicius-butina-iteisinti-homoseksualu-partneryste-56-643797. Povilas Gylys was a former member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

and a former member of the

Communist Party of Lithuania The Communist Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos komunistų partija; russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clan ...

Election results

Seimas

Municipal

References

External links

Official website
2012 establishments in Lithuania Political parties established in 2012 Political parties in Lithuania Organizations based in Kaunas Garliava {{Lithuania-party-stub