Ilona Bērziņa, BNN
It is possible the Saeima speaker candidate Gunārs Kūtris never learned to speak, as he put it, “in a politically pretty way”. Nevertheless, a high-ranking state official like him is not allowed to have ambiguous seeds of thoughts about listening to “the accused and criminally convicted” about economic topics. Even more so if it is an obvious gesture towards the “good master” Aivars Lembergs.
The vote for Gunārs Kūtris as the new Saeima speaker will also be a test for the ruling coalition’s [in?]ability to not work with sanctioned individuals.
Yes, Gunārs Kūtris did apologize to residents for what he said in an interview to Latvijas Radio after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa told him to do it. During that interview Kūtris said that if here were in charge of developing Latvia’s economy, he “would invite Latvian millionaires to a discussion regardless if they are are accused of criminal wrongdoings or are under sanctions”. Yes, now Gunārs Kūtris says “politicians should not meet with politically risky and toxic individuals.” However, his belief that Lembergs “is a rare Latvian politician that would be able to organise the economy” is not gone.
Without a doubt the former chairman of the Constitutional Court of Latvia is right when he says a person cannot be called guilty until a verdict is established. What is confusing, however, is that Mr. Kūtris is focusing only on Lembergs’ trial, forgetting that this person is also under sanctions imposed by the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).
December 2019 was sufficiently long ago for many to forget that
OFAC imposed sanctions on Lembergs not just because of his involvement in corruption,
but also because “Lembergs has used his influence over leadership of political parties to shape government personnel and place certain government officials in positions, as well as to obstruct other government officials from obtaining leadership positions. Additionally, Lembergs has leveraged and corrupted law enforcement officials to protect his interests and subvert politicians whom he otherwise was unable to control”.
This is why concerns about Lembergs’ possible influence on political processes are not, according to Kūtris, a mantra or old news – as long as this person is under US sanctions, any move by him behind the scenes caries great risks for Latvia’s reputation and interests.
Despite the apology from Kūtris, Society for Openness – Delna is correct to be concerned about risks related to the appointment of an inappropriate person for the post of the parliament’s speaker. In particular, it has an impact on the appointment and dismissal of judges, prosecutors and other officials responsible for ensuring the rule of law; sabotage of the country’s economic and national security; threat to relations and cooperation with allies and partners of Latvia – especially in the European Union and NATO; continued loss of trust in the Saeima and other institutions.
The latter is not much of a problem for Saeima deputies though, since they have gotten used to the low trust level. According to data from the Eurobarometer from winter last year show that 61% of Latvian citizens do not trust the government
and 78% of citizens do not trust political parties.
The drop of New Unity’s rating is a clear indication of what residents really think about these “tambourine dances” with the government’s formation. Although New Unity remains in the lead, its popularity has gone down by 2.3% between July and August, according to results of a survey by SKDS. It will be interesting to observe if this party, which currently believes it has secured its place on Olympus forever, ends up capable of even maintaining their voters’ trust.
Coalition members will likely be required to comply with the so-called 10th May Pact and “be volunteered” to vote for Kūtris as the next Saeima speaker no matter what he says. It is possible members of coalition parties will try to hide behind the holy cow of Latvian politics – compliance with faction discipline. If the faction leader throws a thumbs up, the rest have to vote the same way no matter what personal feelings they may have.
But I would like to remind everyone that the Rules of Order of Saeima contain an interesting addition – the Saeima Deputies Code of Ethics, which makes it very clear: “A member of the Saeima may not plead the pressure of representatives of the government, parties or other persons to justify a vote against his or her conscience.” No mention about thumbs down or up in it – only the person’s own conscience, integrity and conviction.
Also read: OPINION | Small declaration, small goals. What can we expect of Evika Siliņa’s government?