There will be no “miracles of surprises” in New Unity (JV) political party’s prime minister candidate Evika Siliņa’s new government, said Latvia’s former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš in an interview to TV3 on Wednesday, the 6th of September.
Kariņš hopes the new government consisting of JV, Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) and Progressive Party (PRO) will be approved in the parliament next week.
According to him, there will be no surprises or miracles in the new government. He added that the distribution of responsibilities among parties remains under question.
The ex-PM believes Siliņa’s government will have a good balance of experienced politicians and newcomers to politics.
In regards to the distribution of seats in ministries, Kariņš mentioned the tradition under which the PM’s party often takes charge of the Ministry of Finance. This means this ministry should stay under JV. In regards to other ministries, Kariņš said it is necessary to reach a final agreement and corrections to the models suggested so far.
When asked if he could become the next Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kariņš said it “cannot be excluded”. In any event, he said he has no plans to leave politics.
Kariņš said he feels a certain “hunger” and will to work from coalition partners. As for the Combined List and National Alliance, the ex-PM said he feels as though they are always “hitting the brakes”. At the same time, the transition of power is going very peacefully. The work of the departing government is not impeded.
The politician believes the new government under Siliņa will have a good chance of lasting until the next Saeima elections.
When asked how it can be that JV drew “red lines” against working with ZZS’ partner, Ventspils politician Aivars Lembergs, during elections and how the party ended up in a situation when cooperation with ZZS suddenly became possible even though the party has never distanced itself from Lembergs, Kariņš said it is enough to include in the coalition’s agreement a specific point to ensure only elected officials are to engage in the coalition’s work to prevent risks of influence. He also said he sees no risks to reputation or security in this situation.
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