Slesers: LPV Would Back a Kulbergs Government Without New Unity and the Progressives
The party Latvia First (LPV) is ready to support a government formed by prime ministerial candidate Andris Kulbergs, with or without ministerial posts, provided New Unity and the Progressives are excluded. LPV leader Ainars Slesers said so on TV3.
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As Latvia works to form a new government, the party Latvia First (LPV) has said it will back a cabinet formed by prime ministerial candidate Andris Kulbergs of the United List (AS), with or without ministerial posts. The condition is that New Unity (JV) and the Progressives are not part of the coalition. LPV leader Ainars Slesers said this on 10 November in the TV3 programme "900 Seconds". President Edgars Rinkevics tasked Kulbergs with forming the government after the 15th Saeima convened.
LPV's red lines
Slesers said LPV's "red lines" apply only to JV and the Progressives, not to the National Alliance (NA). Whether to include NA in the government, he said, is Kulbergs' own decision. He justified his stance by blaming JV and the Progressives for pushing the country into poverty and for irresponsible spending on the Rail Baltica project.
LPV would also support a government that includes Raivis Melnis, the non-party defence minister put forward by JV, since Slesers described him as a professional who has not joined JV. LPV says it is ready to provide 17 votes for a Kulbergs government without demanding ministerial posts in return.
Kulbergs' hesitation
Slesers considers the pace of government formation to be Kulbergs' responsibility. He suggested the hesitation could be linked to the historical relationship between AS and NA, but added that together the two forces hold 51 votes, which is not a sufficient majority for major changes.
Course of the talks
On Monday, after the second round of talks, Kulbergs met JV, the Progressives and NA but offered no clarity on the future coalition. He criticised the first two parties for insufficient preparation and a lack of concrete savings proposals, while singling out NA as a partner that had prepared well. The third round will most likely take place after the national holiday, and Kulbergs promised more details this week. Possible scenarios mentioned include AS working with JV and NA, an AS and NA government, or an AS minority government.
