The government will not review a proposal to sack the Rīga City Council over an ongoing corruption scandal unless the cabinet's legal experts okay the plan, outgoing PM Māris Kučinskis (Greens and Farmers Union) told LTV December 18.
Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis met his Estonian and Lithuanian counterparts in Vilnius, Lithuania, on December 17.
The New Unity party, which has the initiative in forming the new Latvian cabinet, has proposed a five-party coalition without the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) and the Harmony party.
The Environment Ministry (VARAM), in charge of municipal politics in Latvia, will sometime this week propose a bill to the government over dissolving the Rīga City Council.
On December 14 the New Unity party started talks with potential coalition partners over setting up a government under Krišjānis Kariņš.
A new report analyzing Latvia's recent Saeima election, held October 6, concludes that even in the world of social media and mud-slinging campaigns, word of mouth, personal contact and old-fashioned debating are still the most important factors determining how voters place their papers in the ballot box.
The Latvian parliament on December 13 adopted a declaration condemning the aggressive actions of Russia in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch strait.
On December 13 the Latvian parliament denied a National Alliance initiative to amend the Diaspora Law to make the definition of the Latvian diaspora more narrow.
A representative of the smallest party in the Latvian parliament could be the next candidate to attempt to form a government, with early signs suggesting he is in with a good chance of doing so.
On 11 December 2018, Latvia'sMinister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the meeting of the European Union General Affairs Council in Brussels, at which ministers held a discussion on progress in negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021–2027.
Artis Pabriks has ceded the possibility of becoming the country's next Prime Minister, he told the press December 1.
Following Aldis Gobzems' (KPV LV) failure to come up with a supported cabinet plan, president Raimonds Vējonis is to start the third round of talks with all the parties represented in the Saeima.
The chance that Aldis Gobzems (KPV LV) might become Latvia's next prime minister disappeared into the ether December 10 when President Raimonds Vējonis announced that he was withdrawing his nomination from the candidate.
The United States' ambassador to Latvia, Nancy Bikoff Pettit said December 9 that Latvia needs to do a lot more to tackle corruption or risk paying heavy financial, politicial and social penalties.
Prime Ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems (KPV LV party) find himself the center of attention again December 10 and not just because of his scheduled afternoon meeting with President Raimonds Vējonis about forming a new government.
The New Unity party board has decided against continuing talks with the KPV LV party over forming a new government, after KPV LV's prime ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems announced an erratic plan, saying he would invite unspecified non-elected individuals to form a "government of professionals".
The increasingly chaotic process of forming a new government in Latvia took yet another bizarre twist December 7 with prime ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems saying he would invite unspecified non-elected individuals to form a "government of professionals".
Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the 25th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Milan on December 6, using the opportunity to re-state Latvia''s strong support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
KPV LV party leader Artuss Kaimiņš objects against including the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) in the cabinet, reports Latvian Radio.
Members of the Danish royal family became the latest aristocrats to pay a visit to Latvia during its centenary year on December 6.
The Latvian Saeima on December 6 voted to reject signing the United Nations Global Compact for Migration.
Prime Ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems on December 6 gave a deadline to the New Conservative Party (JKP) to decide whether or not to join his proposed coalition government.
The New Conservative Party (JKP) has not withdrawn its stance that the Greens and Farmers Union should not be included in the new cabinet, saying it would rather pursue plans for a 4-party coalition, said JKP leader Jānis Bordāns appearing on Latvian Radio December 5.
On December 5 the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) said it will support KPV LV's cabinet offer put forth by party leader Aldis Gobzems.
Prime Ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems is reported to have drawn up the shape of his desired cabinet - even though it seems to fly in the face of one of his coalition partners' stated positions on inter-party cooperation. However, it should be stressed the government plan was revealed by LTV citing unofficial information.
Prime Ministerial nominee Aldis Gobzems of the KPV LV political party took to social media early on December 4 to inform the public that talks with the For Development/For! alliance had broken down.
Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis spoke at the United Nations climate change conference, COP24 in Katowice, Poland December 3.
On December 1 potential coalition partners sat at the discussion table to discuss tasks for the upcoming government. Talks are stalling, in part, over the uncertainty of when Aldis Gobzems, KPV LV party's candidate for PM, will receive a security clearance enabling him to access state secrets.
Since the Saeima elections on October 6, support has fallen for a number of political parties, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the SKDS pollster for Latvian Television. The poll was conducted from 3 to 15 November, when the New Conservative Party's (JKP) Jānis Bordāns was still in line to become the likely new prime minister - a situation that no longer holds true.
Despite passing the 2% vote threshold necessary to secure state funding for political parties in the recent Saeima elections, the Latvia's Russian Union political party will not be getting its share of the cash for a simple reason: it doesn't have a bank account in Latvia, reports LTV, citing information from the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB).