Latvia's Putative New PM Will Have Her Work Cut Out, Says Journalist
Laimdota Straujuma, who is likely to become Latvia's first female prime minister in a few weeks, will have to manage a fragile coalition or opt for a minority government, says ERR journalist Ragnar Kond.
Straujuma is expected take the top government job as current PM Valdis Dombrovskis resigned following the shopping mall tragedy which killed over 50 people in Riga in November, Kond told ERR radio on Tuesday.
He said that the current coalition government of Harmony Center, the Reform Party and the National Alliance has suffered many internal conflicts, mainly due to the demands of the National Alliance, and that the Union of Greens and Farmers could be poised to join the Cabinet.
Straujuma, who is one of the Cabinet's most experienced politicians and is currently serviing as the Minister for Agriculture, has said she will continue Dombrovskis's economic policy, utilize EU funds more efficiently and decrease social inequality.
President Andris Berzins asked Straujuma to form a new Cabinet on Monday, after rejecting Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks for the job. Kond said the reason for the rejection could lie in Pabriks's stance against Russia.