Smiltēns: Latvia has two options left – attract investment or cut budget spending
Saeima Speaker Edvards Smiltēns said on TV24 that borrowing is no longer realistic for Latvia, leaving a choice between stimulating the economy and cutting state spending. He expects concrete proposals from political partners.
Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of Latvia's 15th Saeima (parliament), a politician from the United List and chairman of the board of the Latvian Regions Association, said on 10 November that the country has reached a point where the usual financial solutions are no longer available. He made the assessment on the TV24 programme "Kārtības rullis" while discussing the state budget and economic development.
Three options have become two
Smiltēns explained that earlier governments had three main options: borrow money, remove obstacles to economic development and investment, or cut budget expenditure.
In his view, borrowing is no longer a realistic solution, because previous governments have already used this option to the maximum. He therefore argued that only two directions remain: rapidly encourage the inflow of investment and economic growth, or review the functions of the state and reduce budget spending.
Waiting for partners' proposals
The Speaker stressed that he expects exactly such concrete proposals from political partners in talks on the next steps.
Asked about his political alliance's offer, Smiltēns said that if it were invited to negotiations, it would put its own plan on the table, which in his view would be better than the one currently on offer. The programme did not detail what specific measures that plan includes.
