Signature drive against Riga council chair Kleinbergs continues; Progressives rule out trading mayor's seat for government role
The Sovereign Power/New Latvians party is collecting signatures to remove Riga city council chairman Viesturs Kleinbergs, while Progressives leader Edmunds Šuvajevs rejects giving up the mayoral post in exchange for a place in the national government coalition.
Tension is building in Riga's city council as the "Sovereign Power/Union of New Latvians" (SV/AJ) party gathers signatures to remove council chairman Viesturs Kleinbergs, a member of the Progressives party. SV/AJ faction leader Jūlijs Stepaņenko confirmed this to the LETA news agency.
Reasons behind the push
Stepaņenko said her party has collected such signatures before, and this time cites several reasons: dissatisfaction with city management, problems at municipal companies, uncertainty surrounding repairs to the Vanšu Bridge, and an ethics scandal within the council. She suggested Progressives councillors may have known about misconduct involving former councillor Mārtiņš Eņģelis but concealed it and misled the public. Stepaņenko argued this raises serious questions about whether Kleinbergs should continue leading the capital.
The removal petition has so far been signed by SV/AJ and "Stability!" faction members, with signatures from "Latvia First" (LPV) deputies still pending. Convening a council session on removing the chairman requires 20 signatures.
National coalition speculation
Separately, discussion continues about possible coalition changes both in the council and nationally. Progressives leader Edmunds Šuvajevs explained that forming a council coalition without his party would be difficult unless LPV were brought in, which would effectively hand influence to Ainārs Šlesers over the "Waterfront" project. He sees no readiness among current coalition partners - the National Alliance, New Unity, and the United List - to make such a change.
Asked whether the Progressives would give up the Riga mayoral seat in exchange for a role in the national governing coalition, Šuvajevs flatly rejected the idea. Commenting on the recent Saeima election results, he noted that many people who considered voting Progressive did so partly because they viewed United List's candidate for prime minister, Andris Kulbergs, as a suitable leader - not necessarily as support for his entire party. Šuvajevs said it remains to be watched whether Kulbergs's positions align with the actions of the broader list he represents.
