The public statement by Ainars Latkovskis, Deputy Chair of the “New Unity” Saeima faction and Chair of the National Security Committee, expressing hopes for a government reset proposal, confirms the recent observations that the government’s ability to act is limited, political analyst and co-owner of the company “Mediju tilts,” Filips Rajevskis, told BNN.
“The government’s limited capacity for action is evident in a series of events – starting with the highly awkward process of electing the President of the Bank of Latvia, which exposed the coalition’s inability to reach an agreement, and ending with months-long discussions about evaluating ministers’ performance, yet no concrete consequences have been observed,” the political analyst explained.
When asked whether the evaluation of ministers’ work could lead to a minister being dismissed, Filips Rajevskis responded affirmatively.
“The coalition’s major partners are, by default, talking about Kaspars Briškens (PRO), and behind the scenes, there are discussions that he simply needs to be removed. If, politically, the message is that Prime Minister Evika Siliņa must solve the Briškens problem, then, translated into plain language, it means the Prime Minister must replace the Minister of Transport.”
However, considering that Andris Šuvajevs, head of the “Progressives” Saeima faction, stated back in November last year that “every Progressive minister is a matter of coalition stability,” it is highly likely that attempts to replace Kaspars Briškens could be the small stone that overturns the entire coalition cart.
In response to BNN’s question of whether Briškens’ removal could indeed trigger the government’s collapse, Filips Rajevskis stated that the government is unstable, and currently, it does not seem possible to resolve this issue without toppling the government. Meanwhile, neither Siliņa’s colleagues within “New Unity” nor ZZS, as coalition partners, are willing to accept inaction on this matter. “The continuation of the current status quo is damaging the ratings of all ruling parties and the coalition as a whole,” the political analyst explained.
According to him, even Plan B—bringing in the “National Alliance” and the “United List” to rescue Evika Siliņa’s government—will not work. “That would mean a new coalition. The President has also publicly stated that it is not possible to expand the current coalition with a new party while maintaining the existing government. I also do not believe that the ‘National Alliance’ and the ‘United List’ are willing to patch up this coalition’s problems. That would require new negotiations and a new government. It is crucial to establish a stable coalition of at least four parties that can function until the end of this Saeima term,” concluded Filips Rajevskis.