All About Latvia

RIGA – In the heat of the 2007 municipal reform aimed at redrawing lines of local governments, Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis (left) received a gift – the globe of Latvia. Across the two continents, the word “Latvia” spreads from China to Great Britain.

In a way, it represents the Latvian worldview. One could not find a better illustration of a mentality of the imperial wannabes. For centuries, Latvians have been ruled over – by Germans, Russians, Swedes (and not necessarily in that order). Twenty years after it regained independence, the young nation is still struggling to create citizen-friendly elite that is capable of governing wisely. But often it is based on weak national self-esteem which paradoxically transforms into the visions of grandeur.

The pride stands in the way of, for example, considering an option of devaluation as a way to recover from the crisis. The pride stands in the way, as anecdotal evidence suggests, to ask for help in handling matters of importance, like construction of the national library, or preparing the economic recovery. Someone had suggested that Latvia could hire a consultant from outside to teach Latvians to govern themselves. Egos and pride stand in the way of prosperity in this country.

It is surprising that folks in a mostly-unknown country of 2.3 million people – let’s face it, a speck on the world arena – has large egos that could fill the whole of Canada.

Latvians like to tell a story about the New World conquest, the Courland Colonization. Only if Brits would talk about their world domination with an apology, Latvians would talk about it with pride. Perhaps, it’s an attempt to compensate for national complexes and the seeming lack of lengthy history of self-rule. Our neighbors to the south are celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the crime record that mentions them by name. Latvian history – as in the history of Latvia – starts much later.

RIGA – You remember this guy? He is back. According to an article in Ventas Balss Dmitrijs Smirnovs said,

The unemployment level will reach 50 percent in the fall. Many people will leave the country to work as servants. They can shoot me for my forecast. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be talking about this. For Latvia to survive at the current management levels, it will need $7 billion to $10 billion every year [...] It all will end in default. Bankruptcy. It will be worse than it was in the 1990s.

Me: So how is the business going?
The furniture store salesman: You know. They say, the crisis is in our heads.
Me: You think?
silence
Noticing credit stickers around the cash register Me:You sell a lot of stuff on credit?
The furniture store salesman: No, not any more.

Juris Kaža feels the same as he did back in 2000.

The ignorance, drunken helplessness, sullen passivity and psychological squalor of a substantial part of the population do not exactly brighten the “civil society” side of things, either. Many of those who have made money use TV reruns of “Dallas” as a literal guide for spending it and as a handbook in business ethics. Underneath the facade, Latvia is too often a pretty sordid and sorry sight.

What the governing institutions lack in corruption they often make up for in ineptitude.

Kaža coined a term for such a behavior – “muttsiness” from the American slang, mutt.