Krisjanis Karins, the Prime Minister of Latvia, declared his resignation on Monday due to strained relations within his multi-party governing coalition.
In a press conference, he stated, “This upcoming Thursday, I will formally present my resignation along with that of the entire cabinet to the president.”
As a key player alongside its Baltic counterparts Lithuania and Estonia, Latvia has been at the forefront of urging the European Union and NATO to exert increased pressure on Russia in response to its incursion into Ukraine.
Karins’ centre-right party, New Unity, emerged victorious in the national elections of October 2022, securing 26 out of 100 seats in a fragmented parliament represented by seven different parties.
Karins attributed his decision to coalition partners who were “hindering progress and economic advancement,” as conveyed through a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Leading the European Union nation of 1.9 million people, Karins’ party had garnered support from the conservative National Alliance and the United List of smaller parties, enabling him to maintain a narrow majority in parliament.
However, relations within the coalition soured when they failed to present a united candidate for the presidential election held in May.
An unsuccessful attempt was made on Friday by Karins to bring additional parties into the government fold, including the left-leaning Progressives party and the Greens, as well as the Farmers Union—a coalition of conservative factions led by Aivars Lembergs, the mayor of the port town Ventspils, who had been placed on a U.S. sanctions list in 2019 for alleged corruption.
Karins disclosed that New Unity will announce its nominee for the position of prime minister on Wednesday.
The responsibility of appointing a new prime minister and tasking them with forming a government falls to President Edgars Rinkevics. The nominated candidate will also need to undergo a parliamentary vote of confidence.
Latvia’s upcoming parliamentary elections are slated for 2026.
