- Later this week, Krisjanis Karins, the center-right prime minister of Latvia, announced his resignation after the two other parties in his three-party ruling coalition rejected a cabinet change.
- Karins asserted that the United List, a centrist political alliance, and the National Alliance, a conservative political coalition, were impeding efforts to improve welfare and the economy.
- After initiating a fresh round of coalition negotiations, he had intended to remain as prime minister, but the two partners indicated that would be against the Latvian Constitution.
- Since the start of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Latvia and its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania have been badly impacted by an energy crisis.
- Following the invasion, the three nations halted supply, forcing Latvia to rely mostly on its own gas reserves and imports from Lithuania. Although the country has one of the highest rates of inflation in the EU, price increases have slowed down during the previous six months.
- Karins will submit his resignation to President Edgars Rinkevics on Thursday and has requested his party, New Unity, to choose a new candidate for prime minister. In Latvia, the following parliamentary elections are slated for 2026.
- After Karins files his resignation on Thursday, August 17, 2023, Edgars Rinkevics, the president of Latvia and the first openly gay head of state in the EU, who was chosen by the Latvian assembly in May 2023, will have to propose a new candidate for prime minister.
- After consulting with the political parties represented in the parliament, the president will suggest a candidate who can win the support of the majority of lawmakers. The parliament will next be asked to approve the candidate’s proposed cabinet and program.
- As of now, no formal statement has been made regarding the next Latvian prime minister. Artis Pabriks, the current defense minister and head of Karins’ party New Unity, Janis Bordans, the current head of the National Alliance, and Martins Bondars, the head of the Progressives are a few potential contenders. These are only conjectures that might be altered by the political negotiations and situation.
Source:
The New York Times
