Pabriks, a senior politician with ministerial experience and until recently an MEP, was expected in some quarters to be named as the third candidate to become PM after Aldis Gobzems (KPV LV) and Jānis Bordāns (The New Conservative Party) failed to muster support for their proposed cabinets.
"In a situation when making an action-capable government is a prerequisite for Latvia developing in a stable manner, and when my candidacy can provoke disagreement due to resentment and ambition on the part of different politicians, I have decided to cede the possibility of being nominated for PM," he told the press.
"I have never put my own personal ambitions over the interests of the state. I think a politician should not strive for power at all cost," he said.
Last week, Aldis Gobzems excluded Development/For! from the government formation talks in an attempt to garner support for a five-party coalition comprising the New Conservatives and the Greens and Farmers Union; this quickly fell out of favor and Gobzems then tried to sell a technocratic government.
Gobzems said several times he would not support Pabriks as a potential prime minister. As a result scrutiny is likely to fall onto alternative candidates such as Roberts Zīle of the National alliance and Krišjānis Kariņš of New Unity, both of whom are currently serving as MEPs and were their parties' prime ministerial candidates in the October 6 parliamentary election.
