The Progressives believes that Prime Minister Evika Siliņa of New Unity (JV) is unable to responsibly lead the government. At the same time, the political force says it will act cautiously in its next steps and will first invite the Prime Minister for talks, Andris Šuvajevs, chairman of The Progressives parliamentary faction, announced on Monday.
The politician stated that an official invitation to the Prime Minister to attend a faction meeting would be sent in the near future so that the situation and issues surrounding the government’s work could be discussed in person on Wednesday, the 13th of May.
The Progressives hope that the upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister will provide clarity regarding further action and the future prospects of the government’s work.
As previously reported, former Defence Minister Andris Sprūds announced his resignation on Sunday evening, while at the same time Siliņa demanded his dismissal. The Prime Minister has already approached Colonel Raivis Melnis to take over the position of Defence Minister, and he has reportedly agreed. Siliņa believes the ministry should be led by a professional.
The Prime Minister made her decision following the drone incidents in Latgale,
citing a loss of confidence in the minister and broader problems within the defence sector.
Meanwhile, Sprūds stated that he was resigning while taking political responsibility and attempting to shield the military from being dragged into political conflicts. At the same time, an evaluation of the National Armed Forces of Latvia response to the incidents continues, along with efforts to strengthen air defence capabilities.
Speaking on TV3’s 900 sekundes program on Monday morning, Siliņa admitted that she had not offered “The Progressives” the opportunity to nominate their own candidate for the defence minister post because party representatives did not participate in Sunday’s discussions.
“I did not offer them anything because I could not discuss it with them at all. They did not come to the meeting yesterday,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Culture Minister Agnese Lāce briefly joined the discussion remotely before disconnecting.
The Prime Minister also stated earlier in the morning that Sprūds had still neither called her nor informed her personally
that he was resigning. Meanwhile, a meeting between the two officials scheduled for Monday midday was later cancelled.
Armands Krauze, chairman of the board of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), when asked about possible future actions should the government collapse, told journalists on Monday morning that various scenarios are possible, although ZZS has not discussed them in detail.
Krauze added that there is no place for political intrigue or games in the security sector and that a pragmatic approach is needed to appoint a new defence minister. He stressed that ZZS is ready to continue working within the coalition. At the same time, ZZS indicated that it would not nominate its own candidate for the defence minister position.
Read also: Latvian Prime Minister: the defence minister still has not called me or told me he is resigning