Talks on forming a government in the Baltic EU and NATO country started a few days after the parliamentary elections in Latvia. The victorious liberal-conservative party Jauna Vienotiba of Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins met on Tuesday with the national-conservative National Alliance and the centrist-conservative electoral association United List. Karins said in Riga that there were no insurmountable differences.
The talks are to be continued. Jauna Vienotiba, who like the CDU and CSU belong to the EPP group in the European Parliament, will first meet with the left-wing progressives, said Karins. He had previously been authorized by Head of State Egils Levits to hold preliminary talks with potential allies about a possible coalition in the Baltic state in north-eastern Europe.
In the parliamentary elections on October 1, Karins’ party won by far the most votes. With the exception of the National Alliance, his previous coalition partners failed to get into parliament – the previous four-party alliance therefore no longer has a majority. A new coalition of the two remaining governing parties and the newly formed United List is therefore considered likely in Riga. The progressives could also be involved in this. However, the National Alliance shows clear reservations.
