Evika Siliņa says she will resign after coalition partner the Progressives blocked her dismissal of Defence Minister Andris Sprūds over a drone incident and withdrew support—President Rinkēvičs warns Latvia cannot afford prolonged instability.
Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa has announced her intention to resign from the post after her coalition partners, the Progressives, refused to support her dismissal of the country’s defence minister, Andris Sprūds, over a recent drone incident (Europe Live last week).
Siliņa was frustrated with the response to the incident. The Progressives declined to back the replacement minister, Raivis Melnis, and said they effectively no longer supported the prime minister, leaving her with no majority in the parliament.
In a hastily arranged media statement this morning, the prime minister said that while resigning to protest at what she called petty party squabbles, Siliņa emphasised she is “stepping down, but not giving up.”
Her comments will perhaps be read as a hint at her intentions ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, already scheduled for October.
In the meantime, further talks on getting out of this political crisis are expected shortly, with a potential interim government formed to lead the country until the election.
The country’s president Edgars Rinkēvičs is planning meetings with leaders of parliamentary parties on Friday. “Latvia cannot afford political uncertainty and instability,” he said on Facebook last night, as the crisis deepened.