Lithuania opposition scents power after backlash vote

Lithuanian opposition parties began talks on Monday on forming a government that will determine the country's path into the euro zone, having won an election marked by a backlash against years of austerity.

In a warning for other European governments pushing through tough budgets, voters ditched Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius' administration on Sunday in favor of an alliance of the Social Democratic Party, the Labour Party and the party of an impeached former president.

Kubilius won praise abroad for slashing the budget deficit after a brutal economic crisis four years ago, but saw his popularity slide at home as wages fell, unemployment rose and tens of thousands of people left the small Baltic country in search of work.

Source and full story: Yahoo News/Reuters, 29 Oct 2012