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LATVIA in REVIEW October 18 – 24, 2011 Issue 42

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LATVIA in REVIEW October 18 – 24, 2011 Issue 42 LATVIA IN REVIEW October 18 – 24, 2011 Issue 42 CONTENTS Government Latvian PM Valdis Dombrovskis Releases New List of Ministerial Candidates Latvian President, PM Designate to Meet to Discuss Formation of New Government President Bērziņš Calls for Broader Coalition, Nominates Valdis Dombrovskis 11th Saeima Elects its Presidium Āboltiņa Becomes Second Speaker in Latvian History Re-elected for a Second Term Latvia’s Ex-President Elected Chairman of Parliament’s National Security Committee Economics Latvian Unemployment Stays at 11.6% in Second Half of October Bank of Latvia: Global Price Shifts Push Down Producer Prices Latvia Places 21st in World Bank’s International Doing Business Rankings Bank of Latvia: Uncertainty Curbs Money Supply Growth President Bērziņš Calls on Professionals to Discuss Future Development of Railroads Former Head of Hungarian Airline Malev Appointed CEO of airBaltic Foreign Affairs Latvian PM Dombrovskis Attends European Council Meeting in Brussels Secretary of State Teikmanis Participates in EU General Affairs Council in Brussels New Head of Latvian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Defines Priorities Secretary of State Teikmanis: Latvia Deserves Solidarity, Not a Slap in the Face Secretary of State Accentuates Active Cooperation between Latvia, Republic of Korea Kristovskis and Upcoming Israeli Ambassador Discuss Bilateral Cooperation Latvian President Accredits Israeli, Belgian Ambassadors Society Inga Žolude wins EU Prize for Literature Latvian Writer Juris Zvirgzdiņš Among Nominees for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Audiences Vote for the Best in Latvian Theater Government Latvian PM Valdis Dombrovskis Releases New List of Ministerial Candidates Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, who has been tasked with forming the new government, has released a new list of ministerial candidates on his website, the Baltic News Service reported. BNS reported that, according to the latest list, Artis Pabriks (Unity) would carry on as defense minister, Edgars Rinkevičs (Zatlers Reform Party, ZRP) would be appointed foreign minister, and Daniels Pavluts, who intends to join ZRP, would become economics minister. Andris Vilks (Unity) would stay on as finance minister, Rihards Kozlovskis (ZRP) would become interior minister, and Roberts Ķīlis would head the Education and Science Ministry, controlled by ZRP. Žanete Jaunzeme-Grende (National Alliance) would be appointed culture minister and Ilze Vinķele (Unity), welfare minister. Aivis Ronis would be put in charge of the Transport Ministry, jointly controlled by the Unity and ZRP. Gaidis Bērziņš (National Alliance) would be appointed justice minister and Ingrīda Circene (Unity) would be appointed health minister. Edmunds 1 Sprūdžs of ZRP would become the new environment and regional development minister and Laimdota Straujuma would head the Agriculture Ministry, controlled by the Unity. According to the Rīga-based newswire, the first list of ministerial candidates, which Dombrovskis had submitted to President Andris Bērziņš, featured two candidates for justice minister: Gaidis Berzins and Jānis Bordāns (both of the National Alliance). BNS had reported previously that the new government coalition will comprise Dombrovskis’s center-right Unity bloc, ZRP, and the National Alliance, as well as six lawmakers who quit ZRP on the eve of the new parliament's inauguration. It is planned that the new government will be appointed this Tuesday, October 25. According to BNS, the would-be government's priorities for the following three years are the following: steady and sustainable national development; improving the wellbeing of each resident; reducing social inequality and stimulating the international competitiveness of the Latvian economy; a consolidated, inclusive society and a strong, modern national identity, ensuring at the same time the existence and development of the Latvian nation, language, and culture; strengthening of the rule of law and public confidence in state authorities; public involvement and initiatives; as well as tackling demographic issues, paying special attention to the repatriation of Latvian citizens and regional development. BNS also reported that the government's action policy will be aimed at the implementation of Latvia's sustainable growth strategy until 2030 and the EU's 2020 strategy. The action plan of Dombrovskis’s would-be Cabinet is available at the website www.valdisdombrovskis.lv. Latvian President, PM Designate to Meet to Discuss Formation of New Government Latvian President Andris Bērziņš plans to meet on Monday with prime minister designate Valdis Dombrovskis from the center-right Unity bloc to discuss formation of the new government, announced the president’s press service, the Baltic News Service reported. According to the Rīga-based newswire, the meeting will start at noon on Monday. By Monday morning the president will also receive the results of screening on candidate ministers from law enforcement authorities, the president's spokeswoman Liga Krapane told BNS. The prime minister's spokesman Mārtiņš Panke told BNS that on Monday Dombrovskis plans to submit the government declaration to the president. According to BNS, the new government might be approved by the parliament on Tuesday, October 25. Prime Minister designate Valdis Dombrovskis, a representative of the center-right Unity bloc, for whom it is going to be the third successive term as the head of the Latvian government, has officially submitted to the Latvian president a list of the potential members of his new Cabinet. BNS reported that the president has requested opinions about the ministerial candidates from the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), which is the top national security agency in Latvia, and the State Revenue Service (VID). Should this opinion turn out to be negative for any of the candidates, BNS reported, such candidate would be rejected. On October 19, Bērziņš decided to nominate incumbent Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, a representative of the center-right Unity bloc, as the prime minister in the new Latvian government, which would consist of Unity, the National Alliance, Zatlers Reform Party (ZRP), and the six MPs who recently left ZRP to form a group of independent lawmakers. Such ruling coalition will have 56 votes in the 100-member parliament. 2 President Bērziņš Calls for Broader Coalition, Nominates Valdis Dombrovskis President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš met on October 19 with representatives of the reform and rule of law coalition – Valdis Dombrovskis, Valdis Zatlers, and Raivis Dzintars. They confirmed to the President that the model for the emerging governing coalition (50+6) has been preserved and that it is not possible to expand the coalition by allowing Latvian Alliance of the Green Party and Farmers Union (ZZS) MP Jānis Dūklavs, who is not actually a member of the alliance, to continue in his job as agriculture minister because the Zatlers Reform Party (ZRP) objects to this. After hearing about the ZRP’s differing position, President Bērziņš insisted that as broad a coalition as possible should be established in the name of government stability. That is why he recommended that Dombrovskis establish a Cabinet of Ministers in which all of the political forces which were elected to the 11th Saeima are represented. The President argued that representatives of all of these forces have confirmed their readiness to work in a coalition led by Dombrovskis, adding that representatives of Harmony Centre (SC) and the ZZS said so during meetings at the Rīga Castle on October 18 and 19. Dombrovskis and Dzintars confirmed their readiness to evaluate the President’s suggestion, and for that reason President Bērziņš left the room for a while. After exchanging views the three political forces still could not agree on an expanded coalition, and so they stayed with the initial offer. They said that all three forces will take responsibility for the 50+6 model for the coalition and for all of the people who are being nominated for ministerial posts. This position was also confirmed by Unity Party chairwoman Solvita Āboltiņa. At President Bērziņš’s suggestion, each person nominated for the Cabinet of Ministers by Dombrovskis’s, Zatlers’s, and Dzintars’s political forces was evaluated individually, requiring a confirmation of responsibility from each party’s representative. The President also expressed views and doubts about certain candidates in terms of their appropriateness for the relevant job. The initial proposal on a coalition involving ZRP and SC failed, and the various “lines in the sand” which parties have drawn around themselves have become an insuperable obstacle against a serious approach to serious issues. Because of this, and in line with the negotiations that he has had over the past several days with representatives of parliamentary parties, President Bērziņš feels that any further delay in the establishment of the government can seriously endanger work on next year’s national budget, as well as on other important issues. Accordingly, the current coalition model is the only one which can realistically be approved. At the same time, however, the President continues to believe that the decision does not keep parties from working to improve the model. “The first serious test for the coalition in terms of its ability to get work done will be the vote on the national budget in 2012. That must not be an experiment with the country or endanger
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