Aldis Gobzems, the prime ministerial candidate from the KPV LV party has in no uncertain terms said that the office belongs to his party.
"Respecting democracy, the president should give the PM nomination to the party which has emerged victorious in the election, from between the parties that can shape government. KPV LV have acquired 5,570 more votes [than 3rd place, the New Conservative Party]. It's the population of Smiltene," he told Latvian Radio.
Nevertheless Jānis Bordāns from the New Conservative Party has not revealed their plans, wavering when asked October 8 whether his party could leave the PM office to Gobzems.
Pointedly, current relations between Bordāns and Gobzems at least appear very sour indeed. Bordāns says he is to complain about Gobzems to the Latvian Collegium of Sworn Advocates over a professional dispute.
Gobzems meanwhile has adopted a tone markedly different from that of the heated election period. "I should stress I'm a very serious candidate for being PM. And the PM candidate should act as an example in front of the public, standing above any emotion and acting in a stately manner for the country's sake," he said.
KPV LV and the New Conservative Party are meeting on October 9 at 11.30 a.m.
Politics expert Ilze Ostrovska, a professor at the Baltic International Academy, meanwhile says that having this many possible combinations for setting up a government is unprecedented in Latvia following renewal of independence. To Ostrovska, it's still too early to tell what the new government will look like.
She also says each of these political powers could come up with their own cabinet offer; and this is up to the president, and the parliament, to accept.
KPV LV and the New Conservative party each won 16 seats in the 13th Saeima election, held October 6, 2018.
