On May 31, the Saeima elected the long-standing foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs the next President of Latvia with 52 out of 100 votes. He was elected by the Members of the New Unity faction, as well as two opposition factions – the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Progressives. Incumbent Levits' term ends on July 8.
Following the presidential elections, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announced that he saw the possibility of negotiating with the existing partners – the United List and the National Alliance – on extending the coalition, likely to include the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Progressives.
Speaking of the fact that the next President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, was elected with a small majority of votes, Levits said the number of votes electing the president was not too significant. The question is what votes the president elected. In this case, it was the opposition votes. “Let's see what the outcome will be for [Prime Minister's] advice [on extending the coalition],” Levits said.
In his opinion, the best option would be if the current coalition continued to work.
At the same time, the extension of the coalition was possible, Levits conceded, stating: “it would not be preferable if there was a political force in the coalition that has not been completely relieved of oligarchic influence”. The Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has “a problem that should be addressed”, the President of Latvia said.
