There is still a lot of work left before the coalition is able to compose the government declaration, said one of the founders of the Combined List (AS) political party, businessman and architect Uldis Pīlēns in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma.
«There is still a lot to do, because the method used – putting together a declaration without a policy on the ground and priorities at the top – has generated a draft in which priorities are mixed in with unimportant tactical tasks,» he said.
Looking back at negotiations held in the past, Pīlēns said the topic of discussions entrusted to his party were never discussed in detail – AS simply accepted the four ministries offered by PM Krišjānis Kariņš.
When it comes to work on the government declaration, Pīlēns said there is only a draft containing nearly 400 articles in which priorities are mixed in with unimportant issues.
On top of that, no cross-sectoral policy can be found in the draft of the declaration. Pīlēns said he and his party’s partners will try to define inter-sectoral tasks in security and energy.
«The topic is complex,» he said, commenting on priorities to help raise the competitiveness of Latvia’s education sector.
According to the draft of the declaration of the new government of Latvia, it is planned to list in the document how the country deals with the consequences of Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine – high inflation and global energy crisis.
«Strengthening our country’s development path, we have to maintain the policy that provides our residents with security and welfare. Notable changes have been implemented in higher education, science, financial sector, investments, administrative power and other sectors in the past several years. These changes will form the foundation for future development,» the draft mentions.
By implementing ongoing reforms and exacting other changes, the forming government plans to maintain focus on growth of the national economy, stability and reinforcement of security.
«The number of businesses that export goods with high added value is up, residents’ average wage is up, and the international ratings of our universities are up. These are the trends in our national economy that have to be reinforced,» as noted in the draft of the declaration.
In order to maintain growth of the national economy, it is necessary to perform a wide transformation of the economy, focused reorientation of state administration in five mutually related sectors – security, education, energy, competitiveness and quality of life.
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