Recent days have seen some speculation in the corridors of power about differences within the coalition consisting of New Unity, the Progressives and the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) over issues including the way forward for the Rail Baltica project and choosing a governor for the central bank. While there has been no overt split as yet, the political rumour-mill has been running at full steam.
However, the head of the United List's Saeima faction, Edgars Tavars, was adamant that his party would not dig the government out of a hole of its own making.
"We are not going to be some kind of stooge for a very wobbly and ugly government structure. If the government cannot cope, it must fall and a new one must be formed, quite simply," Tavars said in the statement.
However, he didn't completely exclude the possibility that AS could be induced to flex its political muscles, given the right circumstances.
"In order for the AS to even consider the possibility of participating in this or that government model", a number of conditions must be in place including a reduction of the state administration apparatus by at least 10%, a reduction in the number of ministries, and a complete revision of the state budget – none of which are likely to happen soon.
AS is also in favor of changes to the electoral system, which would provide for the possibility for voters to recall deputies, as well as the reduction of the threshold for initiating referendums, the revision of regional and rural population and development programs, climate policy, "renouncing economically destructive and unrealistic measures", and solving the demographic crisis – again, a big ask.
The United List was publishing its wish-list "so that we can say with confidence that our involvement in the government would be meaningful and necessary", Tavars said in the statement.
"Otherwise, by participating for mere presence or ambition, we would in no way contribute to significant change in national security, the economy, or public trust in politics," he added.
There is also the small matter of lingering bad blood between the United List and New Unity after the latter abandoned a previous three-party coalition in which they were joined by the National Alliance after less than a year in a decidedly Machievellian manner.
On August 14 last year, Krišjānis Kariņš of New Unity announced his resignation from the post of Prime Minister. The origins of the crisis that led to his resignation date back further than that, though, to the campaign to elect then-New Unity Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs to the Presidency in the Spring. The coalition of New Unity, the National Alliance and the United List was unable to agree on a single candidate for the Presidency and Rinkēvičs was eventually installed with votes from New Unity plus the two opposition parties, ZZS and the Progressives as relations between the ruling parties soured.
Prime Minister Kariņš then began attempts to "broaden" the coalition and increase its power in parliament by bringing ZZS and the Progressives into government, but the move was rejected by his existing partners and the end result was the fall of his government.
The United List consists of three smaller parties under one umbrella political grouping: the Green Party of Latvia, the Regional Alliance and the Liepāja Party.
