Riga Mayor: No Other Coalition Possible in the Capital
Riga City Council chairman Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives) says no alternative coalition can be formed in the capital, and claims all current coalition parties are ready to keep working under his leadership.
Viesturs Kleinbergs, chairman of Riga City Council (the capital's mayor), has stated that forming a different municipal coalition in Riga is not possible. He was responding to suggestions of disputes among the council's coalition partners, which have emerged after the 15th Saeima (Latvian parliament) election as talks on a new national government get under way.
Kleinbergs said that parliamentary election periods are always marked by turbulence, which provides fertile ground for rumours in Riga. According to him, he kept in touch with all council coalition parties both before and after the vote, and they have confirmed they are ready to continue working under his leadership.
Asked whether he sees risks of change once government formation talks intensify and after they conclude, the mayor replied there was no basis for that. When journalists asked whether change might come if the Progressives end up in opposition at national level, he said no other coalition could be formed in Riga, and cooperation with the party led by Ainars Šlesers, LPV, is not possible. "Accordingly, we have to be able to reach agreement," he said.
Commenting on the fact that 13 Riga councillors were elected to the Saeima, Kleinbergs said he has no great illusions about higher-quality "opposition material" taking their place on the council, since in his words it is mostly destructive.
Election results and government formation
In the 15th Saeima election, the United List (AS) won the most support, taking 41 seats. It was followed by Latvia First with 17, Sovereign Power/Alliance Young Latvians with 15, the National Alliance and the Progressives with ten each, and New Unity with seven.
The task of forming the new government has been entrusted to AS prime ministerial candidate Andris Kulbergs, the current Prime Minister. It has been suggested that the government could be formed by the parties already represented in it, but active negotiations have not yet begun.
