Latvian PM confident in coalition’s stability and ability to tackle budget issues

The coalition is able to take decisions on the state budget and it is stable, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) said in an interview on TV3.

The politician is satisfied with the current coalition and does not see any risks to its continued existence, even with MEP Oļegs Burovs going to the municipal elections and securing the coalition’s 52nd vote.

The opposition has a very strong desire to undermine this government, Siliņa believes, adding that she finds the United List’s position on cooperation with individual coalition parties interesting.

Siliņa stressed that all government ministers are constantly being evaluated, including Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens, but the most important thing at the moment is to adopt next year’s budget.

PM pointed out that overall, the government has a number of important tasks, including figuring out how to proceed with the Rail Baltica project, which lacks funding in all the Baltic countries. A report on the way forward is awaited from the Ministry of Transport, but Siliņa is convinced that no one was able to foresee in advance either the Covid pandemic or the war in Ukraine, which had a significant impact on the project’s costs. At the same time, there has been insufficient communication to inform previous governments of the current situation, so Siliņa hopes that this will not happen again in her government.