Latvia’s Krišjānis Kariņš authorised by president to commence coalition formation

On Monday, 3 October, Latvia’s President Egils Levits authorised New Unity’s representative Krišjānis Kariņš to commence coalition formation talks talks with other parties.
It is expected Kariņš will inform Levits of results of coalition formation talks in a week.
The president allowed that if Kariņš’s consultations are successful, Kariņš may be nominated for the position of prime minister.
At the same time, Levits stressed that before a prime minister is appointed it is necessary to develop a coalition agreement that will include clear reform government’s priorities and objectives. It is also necessary to secure a modern government model that covers areas that weren’t covered in the past.

Levits stressed that the next Cabinet of Ministers needs to be a reform government.

According to him, it is important to include in the coalition agreement not only topics of reform, but also a modern and flexible government model that outlines the government’s priorities and covers topics that were not on the previously parliament’s agenda, such as the green course, energy, digitisation and others.
The topic of the upcoming winter is also very important, said Levits. The topic of structural reforms in the economy, such as as employment and retraining. As for the topic of education and science, the previous government did not address this issue enough, said the president.
«There is a number of topics that need resolving to allow Latvia develop as quickly as before, because development at the current speed leaves us behind other countries,» said Levits.
New Unity reports this week it is planned to start coalition formation talks with multiple other parties elected to the 14th Saeima.
Political talks will commence on Tuesday, 4 October. Kariņš will meet with representatives from the Combined List and National Alliance first. On Wednesday, 5 October, he will meet with representatives of the Progressive Party.

According to Latvia’s current prime minister, New Unity will hold coalition talks only with the parties whose geopolitical course includes Latvia’s remainder in the EU and NATO countries’ family.

Kariņš also said there will be two cornerstones for talks with possible coalition parties: «Primarily we need to reach an agreement in regards to the government’s priorities in general and specific measures to enhance Latvia’s economic growth and security.»
BNN previously reported that seven parties were elected to the 14th Saeima: New Unity (26 seats), Union of Greens and Farmers (16 seats), Combined List (15 seats), National Alliance (13 seats), For Stability! (11 seats), Latvia in First Place (9 seats), and Progressive party (10 seats).
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