Lithuanian lawmakers approved Social Democrat Inga Ruginiene as the Baltic nation’s next prime minister, giving her the mandate to form a new government and turn the page on a business scandal that fractured the ruling coalition.

READ MORE: Lithuanian Prime Minister Paluckas resigns

Lawmakers in Vilnius voted 78-35, with 14 abstentions, in favor of a former trade union leader, who will now have two weeks to form a cabinet and win final approval of its program in parliament. The vote took place amid a protest outside the parliament building against a new ruling alliance.

Ruginiene, 44, was picked to lead the government after the collapse of the previous government due to the former prime minister’s business ties. She is a political newcomer who joined the Social Democrats just nine months ago as a social affairs minister.