Interview with Juris Žagars seeks the person behind the public image

The Latvian news portal TVNET has published an interview with Juris Žagars. Its author takes an unusual approach: she tries to see the person behind his many roles, successes, influence, constant activity and prominent public image. The title, "Nakedness behind the king's crown", points to that aim.

Andersen's tale as a reference point

In the introduction the journalist refers to the H. C. Andersen fairy tale in which people stay silent because nobody dares tell the king he is naked. The king in the tale was arrogant, but she stresses that Žagars is not. Even so, the comparison stayed with her throughout the conversation, and she let it.

What the conversation is not about

The author clearly rules out several subjects. The interview will not be about clothes, possessions or the backstage of private life. Romance is also left out: as Žagars himself puts it, that should stay for women's magazines. Instead, the goal is personal: to glimpse the person behind everything else.

Resistance from the start

Although the journalist felt determined at the outset, it became clear within the first minutes that Žagars would not set his crown aside easily. She writes that he will not let her reach the "king's nakedness" without effort. The available introductory excerpt does not reveal what Žagars says later in the conversation, so the content of the interview itself is not reported here.