Jurēvics: Riga City Council Coalition Holds a Majority, No Grounds for Mayor's Resignation

The current coalition in the Riga City Council still holds a majority, so there is no reason to destabilise the work of the municipality or demand the resignation of Riga's mayor. This was the position expressed by Edmunds Jurēvics, a member of the Saeima (Latvia's parliament) and chair of the New Unity party's parliamentary group, on the TV24 programme "Ziņu TOP". He suggested that the opposition's activity could also be tied to political talks about future coalitions and the allocation of posts.

Balance of power in the council

Jurēvics said the ruling coalition has 34 votes in the council, while the opposition has 26. The coalition consists of the Progressives, New Unity, the United List and the National Alliance. He agreed with Riga deputy mayor Vilnis Ķirsis that two coalitions are theoretically possible in the council: the present one, or an alternative one involving the opposition forces.

Jurēvics doubted that any current coalition partner would have grounds to leave and join forces such as "Stabilitātei!", "Suverēnā vara" or "Latvija pirmajā vietā". He sees a similar situation if one of the partners decided to cooperate with Ainārs Šlesers at government level.

Link to national politics

The politician reminded listeners that changes in the Riga council cannot be separated from broader political processes in the country. As an example, he cited Mārtiņš Staķis, who lost the post of Riga mayor after changes in parliament. In his view, the question of the city's leadership could therefore become part of wider political negotiations.

Jurēvics stressed that the Riga municipality is not merely an administrative body but also a politically significant player, since Riga is Latvia's capital. Events in the council can therefore influence the broader political situation in the country.

After talks with deputy mayor Ķirsis, the New Unity board has reportedly reinforced its position that the party will not take part in destabilising the council's work and will not back the mayor's resignation. Jurēvics acknowledged that there are issues in the municipality's work that need improvement, but said this is not a reason to halt the work already started. The council, he argued, should keep working and not let political twists disrupt the coalition.