The first 100 days of Prime Minister Evika Siliņa’s government make me cautiously optimistic, but the government has some tough times ahead, says politologist Juris Rozenvalds.
He says that the first 100 days is not a period of time within which it’s possible to notice any significant changes in the government’s work. According to him, the new Latvian government has yet to move mountains. Nevertheless, one positive worth mentioning is that the communication with society and businesses has definitely improved.
Rozenvalds says that one of the problems that plagued the government of the previous prime minister – Krišjānis Kariņš – was the quality of communication. Kariņš himself ventured into dangerous waters with his public communication at times, starting with mass media, which he mostly ignored, and ending with the anecdotal bringing of a glass of water to opposition representative Ainārs Šlesers, which is not something suitable for a prime minister.
“When it comes to communication, we have to look at the tandem between Siliņa and President Edgars Rinkēvičs, which changed the overall atmosphere. Previously there was talk of the regime under then the President Egils Levits and Kariņš. When it comes to Siliņa and Rinkēvičs, whoever, I would rather not use the word regime. Both of them show signs of positive changes in communication, which is generally a good thing,” says the politologist.
Rozenvalds says that when it comes to affairs that were finally resolved are related not just with the economy, which is important for all residents, they are related to various problems that previously remained unresolved for a long time. This includes regulations that govern partnership and the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
“These topics were objects of political stiffening during Kariņš’s second government. Looking back at opinions of ministers at the time, these were taboo topics for then the Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens. No one was allowed to speak or make decisions that could have potentially put the coalition at risk. I think it’s a good thing those decisions were finally made. Yes, this will not cause any radical changes for our economic situation.
It does seem like citizens will not be able to collect 150 000 signatures by January, which means the partnership regulations will come into force,” said the politologist.
According to Rozenvalds, there are other topics the review of which now progresses even though previously they were in the banned category. This includes attraction of labour force. The politologist believes the process to resolve this issue has started moving forward. He allows that Siliņa’s government has tough times ahead – there are many difficult issues to resolve. One of them concerns Latvian national airBaltic airline. Rozenvalds says it may become one of the more complicated issues in the future.
“I would like to say the beginning is cautiously optimistic. Resolution of certain problems shows signs of progress, and overall communication is better now. Siliņa’s government is committed to reducing bureaucracy, which is one of the main problems for our economy,” said the politologist.
He mentioned that this government does not show signs of a confrontation between two sides in the coalition, which was apparent in Kariņš’s second government, which had Combined List and National Alliance on one end and New Unity in the other. The politologist believes this will benefit the government’s development. Although The Union of Greens and Farmers have backed off from their previous demands, in this case it is important for partners to establish tighter cooperation. At least this is how it looks, says Rozenvalds.
When asked how Siliņa proved herself as the head of the Latvian government in these first 100 days, the politologist said it is difficult to say anything as the 100-day period comes to a close. According to him, Siliņa’s communication style is calm – she doesn’t try to avoid questions.
Rozenvalds said he doesn’t want to look down at Kariņš’s contribution, but its was the communication that was his biggest problem.
As for how long this coalition could last, Rozenvalds stressed that “history is quiet about that at the moment”. According to him, even though there are differences between parties, there are no indications of this coalition potentially collapsing very quickly. For example, Progressive party and ZZS are completely different political parties, but there is almost no friction between them.
The politologist said that New Unity is centrist when it comes to its political views, ZZS is less conservative, and Progressive party is more left-leaning, this means the structure of the government is more stable than Kariņš’s second government.
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