“This process continued on and on for two years, and now I feel the nightmare is over. I hope other processes, if any appear, will pass quickly, and the result will be the same,” said former Latvian Minister of Health Ilze Viņķele in an interview to Privātā Dzīve magazine after the announcement of the not guilty verdict in the case regarding possible inaction of a public official in relation to the ordering of Covid-19 vaccines.
“The relief from hearing this long-awaited verdict was so high I didn’t really even the strength to stand up. I won’t deny, these last few years have been the hardest in my life. I would gladly forget everything I’ve experienced,” she told the magazine. “First there were accusations, then a trial. The first period was so intense, I felt the ground disappearing from underneath my feet.”
Then the Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš pinned all the blame for problems with the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines on Viņķele and requested her dismissal.
According to the court verdict, Viņķele lost her post unjustifiably. When asked if she holds a grudge against Kariņš, Viņķele told the magazine: “Here I would like to outline two things. Kariņš fired me, and he thought it was justified. By the rules of the political game, requesting dismissal is in the job description. Yes, I thought it wasn’t fair and was cowardly, and the very way it was done to save his own skin because there was already talk of his inadequacy for the PM’s post, taking the brightest out of the team and make him a scapegoat was disgusting to me. But my heart doesn’t hurt for that.”
She says she cannot forgive Kariņš for something else. “You don’t have your office manager write an application to the prosecution office. You just don’t do that! But I believe in karma and that sooner or later all the bad will return and make the person answer for their wrongdoings,” said the politician.
When asked if Kariņš tried contacting her to apologize, Viņķele told the magazine: “He’s not someone who will apologize. He’s not a team player who thinks about others. He thinks only about himself.”
Once the trial is over and the final verdict is announced, Viņķele will request a compensation for the absurd accusations. “I want some satisfaction from everything I was forced to go through. At least an apology,” said the former minister.
Also read: Covid-19 scandal: court finds former Minister of Health not guilty in case concerning negligence
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