All About Latvia

RIGA – I’d lost all motivation to write about Latvia. This site – launched a way to stay in touch with my homeland when I was in the US – turned into a testament of Latvian pessimism.

Recent political events make it really difficult – down right impossible – to predict this country’s future. Cynicism of politicians toward those whom they are supposed to serve, lack of strong political leadership on all levels, jeopardize Latvia’s future as a European nation where democratic principles are upheld. I want to believe that this country will eventually manage to pull itself out of the Soviet swamp where it still seemed to have stuck, even after 18 years of independence. But I don’t hold much hope.

Watching history being made in the parliament on Sunday left a bad aftertaste for me. Not for me as a journalist, but as a citizen. The Saeima made three wrong decisions in one day. The competence was punished and the incompetence was rewarded. It was painful to watch how politicians justified why the Latvian Horse Minister Vinets Veldre should keep his job even though he has been obviously incompetent. Or how the ruling coalition tried to make the case to fire the head of the anti-corruption agency Aleksejs Loskutovs, failing to communicate a clear reason for the rush of his firing. It was even more painful to eavesdrop on MPs conversations during lunch talking about Loskutovs and several hundred people, who gathered outside to support him, with such a disdain.

Undoubtedly, the June 29 parliamentary session will enter history books as another sign that this country is at the crossroads. The question stands whether it will mark a day when politicians continue to be unaccountable for their actions, or a day when people start pay close attention and demand their public servants walk the line.

The next test will be the August 2 referendum, when Latvians decide for what they care more – their country or their summer holidays. For holiday-loving Latvians, it’ll be a tough choice to make. The referendum itself to allow people to dissolve the parliament is a scary one. A positive outcome could thwart the country into an era of constant signature-gathering referenda, stalling its progress. However given political elite’s cynicism, one has little choice but to support the measure.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 12.06 and is filed under Parliament, Politics, The Godmanis government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.