RIGA – Being unable to impact their government, Latvians turn to humor to relieve their economic tensions.
The cult classic became the interview of the finance minister Atis Slakteris to Bloomberg TV as the small Baltic nation’s economy turned from Europe’s economic hero to below zero.
Asked about what happened to the Latvian economy, Slakteris answered in a heavily-accented English, “Nasing spešal.”
The phrase entered folklore after the most popular political TV program “Nothing Personal” broadcast unedited bits of the interview, showing the 1980 graduate of the Latvian agriculture university making long pauses and searching for right English words.
The interview became a symbol of the political ineptitude that drove more than 10,000 people to the Dome Square in the Latvian capital on January 13. The rally then turned into a cobble-throwing riot around
the finance ministry. A protester held a sign that read, “Nasing Spesal – Penguin Revolution,” a reference to another political faux pas.
In his traditional New Year’s Eve address, Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis likened Latvians to penguins who huddle together to protect their own in the time of severe winter storm.
“In the next two years, Latvian economy will weather such a winter storm and those humane qualities like trust, compassion, empathy and goodness will be as important as ever,” Godmanis said, urging Latvians to “be with the government.”
As a poor choice of words, penguins peacefully proceeded into Latvia’s political vernacular, becoming an unofficial name of a group that seeks responsible governance from public officials.
They use their blog “Nasing Spešal,”named after the finance minister’s phrase to propagate their views.
When the domestic demand dwindles and the economy plummets the sharpest here than in any other EU nation, businesses turn to “nothing special” as a way to lure in customers. Two companies sell T-shirts with an image of Latvia’s finance minister and his quotes.
A restaurant on Dzirnavu iela offers a nothing-special menu in a form of an image of a crumbled paper with blue-inked revisions and amendments to simple entrees.
While Americans watch comedy shows that make fun of politicians, Latvians, having no such outlet, express themselves on a T-shirt.
In an apparent jab at Slakteris, Latvia’s President Valdis Zatlers on January 14 used the ability to speak foreign languages as one criteria for Godmanis to introduce “new faces” in order to restore the public trust.
While the Japanese finance minister was forced to resign over slurred speech during the G8 press conference, Latvians are still waiting for changes in the government that never seem to come soon enough. They resort to humor to help their own helplessness.
I suspect the economic crisis will bring the EU closer together – perhaps not in a form of a federal state, but definitely closer to it than it is now. That’s what a crisis does – it is a natural catharsis for change. It either breaks the union or makes it stronger. It has been true for any kind of blocs. The United States live on as a single federal country after the North won in the Civil War and prevented some states from forming another union. The Soviet Union collapsed unable to deal with the economic and geopolitical changes in the world. The League of Nations failed because it couldn’t prevent the Second World War, while the United Nations…. well, that’s a different story.
