The process of forming the prospective government led by Andris Kulbergs has so far progressed surprisingly smoothly — the United List, National Alliance, Union of Greens and Farmers, and New Unity appear, as the saying goes, to have decided to “sing from the same song sheet.”
Can it really be said that no further “surprises” await the public in the context of government formation? BNN asked political analyst Filips Rajevskis, co-owner of the company “Mediju tilts.”
“I always say that any government can collapse at any moment, starting from the very day it receives the confidence vote in parliament,” Rajevskis said.
“Likewise, until a government is actually formed, something can happen at any moment that prevents it from even reaching a parliamentary vote. It can also happen that it simply fails to gather enough votes. Latvia’s history already includes cases where a government confirmation vote is held, but suddenly one vote is missing or something else occurs. One must keep this in mind when looking at and trying to predict anything regarding newly forming governments.”
“However, in this particular case,
if we compare last Friday to this Friday, the progress has been remarkably substantial.
First, we have a prime ministerial candidate; second, the outlines of the coalition are clear; third, there is already some sort of basic document of two and a half pages that they have signed and which can be regarded as the foundation for the future government declaration.”
“I am completely convinced that what they are not saying publicly — but what absolutely already exists — is a rough division of ministries and perhaps even potential names for ministerial positions. Things are moving forward very quickly, and that is commendable,” the political analyst assessed.
Another major political issue this week has been the escalation of the so-called timber industry scandal, culminating in a public exchange between Prosecutor General Armīns Meisters and former Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze.
Asked whether the public will ever learn whether this is a political intrigue, as the Union of Greens and Farmers claims, or whether the timing of the scandal coinciding with Evika Siliņa’s resignation is merely coincidental, Rajevskis replied:
“Whether this is politics or not — the court will decide.
Because based on the level of aggression coming from the prosecutor and the number of people covered by the prosecution in this case, we can say that eventually all of this will end up in court.”
“The outcome of the trial will then show how much of this was reality and how much was part of a political struggle, in which the The Progressives simply found receptive ears within the prosecution service in order to settle scores with their coalition partners from the Union of Greens and Farmers.”
Regardless of what a future court ruling may or may not conclude, the immediate question remains how much damage this scandal has inflicted on the reputation of the Union of Greens and Farmers ahead of the election campaign.
In response,
Rajevskis said that, in his opinion, the offensive against Armands Krauze has been painful for the party.
“He is one of the leaders, he is the chairman of the alliance, he is the Minister of Agriculture, he is one of the most visible politicians within the Union of Greens and Farmers — and we are seeing an outright destruction of his image as a politician.”
Asked to comment on the Prosecutor General’s statement that Krauze should leave the political stage, the analyst added:
“I do not want to give Krauze advice on what would be the wisest thing for him to do, but the fact that he is the object of an offensive is as clear as two plus two.”
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