Coalition tensions rise after Latvia’s government honeymoon ends

Latvia’s governing coalition has entered a period of increasingly public conflict after its first 100 days, with Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs clashing with ministers from other parties, Latvijas Televīzija’s de facto reports.

Political circles disagree over the reasons. Some attribute the disputes to approaching elections and opinion ratings, which may be making some politicians fear for their results while giving others premature confidence. Others say the differences point to systemic problems in a government formed with high expectations.

A coalition cooperation meeting chaired by Kulbergs, the de facto leader of the United List, ran considerably longer than expected on August 31, just before the start of the new school year.

Education Minister Ilze Indriksone of the National Alliance had proposed reforms that the teachers’ trade union criticised as too rapid. The reforms met resistance from coalition partners New Unity and the Union of Greens and Farmers. Indriksone initially refused to give way, but some of the amendments she had submitted were eventually removed from the government’s agenda, at least for the time being.

“Reforms are necessary, but they cannot be introduced at the beginning of the school year, creating uncertainty for students, parents and teachers,” the prime minister said.

This was already Kulbergs’ second dispute with the education minister in a short period. The previous weekend, his office and the Ministry of Education and Science exchanged critical comments over funding for a bridge championship in Riga. The card game federation is led by Imants Parādnieks, a consultant to the National Alliance’s parliamentary faction.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava and other National Alliance members publicly expressed dissatisfaction after the coalition declined to consider Dombrava’s proposed plan to restrict immigration at a Cabinet meeting.

Reports that the government had slowed the plan angered Kulbergs. He publicly accused Dombrava of shouting, acting hysterically and staging a fight against immigration.