Latvia - Centre-right coalition retains power The existing three-party coalition in Latvia is likely to retain power after parliamentary elections held at the week-end. While the opposition Harmony again came top in the vote (winning 24 seats) it will be unable to form a government given that other parties find some of its pro-Russian views unacceptable. Instead, another government based on Unity, the Union of Greens and Farmers and National Alliance (which won between them 61 seats in the 100-seat parliament) will likely continue in office. Whether Laimdota Straujuma will continue as Prime Minister or whether, indeed, a fourth party will join the coalition remains to be seen. Harmony, which speaks for Latvias significant Russian minority, will no doubt be dissatisfied that it is being excluded from office again at the national level (its leader is Mayor of Riga) even if its representation dropped by 7 seats compared to the 2011 election. However, the existing government can argue that it won a comfortable majority with all three parties winning more seats than they did last time around.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 17:52:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015