The President of Latvia has nominated an opposition figure for the post of prime minister
17 May 01:14
Following the resignation of Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina , opposition politician Andris Kulbergs is set to become the new head of government; his candidacy was put forward on Saturday, May 16, by President Edgars Rinkēvičs. The head of state stated at a press conference that “in accordance with the Latvian constitution,” the new prime minister must come from the ranks of the opposition, according to Reuters and AFP, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
Kulbergs is a member of the conservative “United List” alliance—the largest opposition bloc in the country’s parliament, the Saeima. Parliament has yet to approve his nomination. Rinkēvičs also said that before entrusting Kulbergs with forming a new cabinet, he met with representatives of all parties represented in the Latvian parliament.
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Latvian Prime Minister Resigns Amid Crisis
Evika Silina has resigned amid a government crisis that erupted following an incident involving drones in the country’s airspace. The entire government is resigning along with her, Latvian broadcaster LSM reported on May 14. The current government will continue to perform its duties until the new cabinet is approved.
The day before, on May 13, two of the three parties in the ruling coalition—the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Progressives—stated that the government had effectively lost its ability to function.
Political crisis in Latvia following drone attacks
The political crisis in Latvia began after two drones from Russia entered the country’s airspace on the night of May 7. One of the crashed drones landed in empty tanks at an oil depot in the city of Rēzekne. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga later stated that Ukrainian UAVs had strayed into Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electronic warfare systems, which “deliberately diverted Ukrainian drones from their targets on Russian territory.”
On May 10, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds, a member of the “Progressives” party, resigned. He stated that he had decided to step down from his post “to protect the Latvian army from being drawn into a political campaign.” Evika Silina subsequently said that Spruds had lost public trust, and that the drone incident showed that the defense leadership “had failed to fulfill its promise of a secure sky.”
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