Latvia's prime minister-in-waiting announces ministerial line-up
Latvia's prime ministerial candidate, Evika Siliņa, on Wednesday officially unveiled the provisional division of ministerial portfolios in her administration, public broadcaster LSM reports. That coalition will be subject to a vote at the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, later this week.
Following talks with the head of state, President Edgars Rinkevičs, Silina outlined her plans for a tripartite coalition consisting of her centrist New Unity party, the conservative agrarian Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) and the social democrat Progressives, LSM reports on its English-language page.
Ministerial portfolios would be doled out in proportion to the size of the coalition part by seats, so New Unity, as the largest, would have seven ministers, ZZS four ministers and the Progressives three ministers.
The Progressives are in fact entering office for the first time ever.
Outgoing Prime Minister Krisjanis Karinš is set to remain in government in the new administration, this time as foreign minister, LSM reports.
President Rinkevičs told journalists that he had discussed the government's proposed declaration with Silina and found the new coalition government-in-waiting's declaration "short, but specific – some tasks are precise with deadlines, some things are more expansive".
President Rinkevičs, himself a former New Unity member and foreign minister, until he stepped down to become head of state earlier this year, added that the proposed ministers are not complete unknowns, though he would have preferred Wednesday's announcement to have arrived a few days earlier.
ZZS will likely be getting the position of Saeima speaker in addition to its four ministers.
The proposed coalition has a majority of 52 at the 100-seaet Saeima, while the vote on the new alignment is due for this coming Friday.
The outgoing coalition of New Unity, the National Alliance and the United List, which had to leave office with Karinš resignation last month, had two more seats than the incoming one.
Silina herself said: "One of my main tasks will be to achieve greater flexibility in various issues as required by the state administration. This will require the contribution of every minister."
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: LSM