The United List (OL) no longer has "red lines" against cooperation with the Union of Greens and Farmers (UGF), according to statements made by OL faction deputy Maris Kucinskis in an interview on the Latvian television program "Morning Panorama," LETA reports.
In 2023, when the government of the current Prime Minister Evika Silina ("New Unity") was being formed, the United List (OL) refused to participate, citing a reluctance to cooperate with the Union of Greens and Farmers (UGF) and expressing suspicions about hidden ties between this party and the former mayor of Ventspils, Aivars Lembergs.
However, when Kucinskis was asked in an interview with LTV on Thursday whether the OL still had "red lines" regarding the UGF, the politician replied: "'Unity' has proven that the UGF are 'good'. Why should we say otherwise now?" When asked for clarification if this meant that the OL believed in "New Unity," the deputy laughed and replied: "That can be interpreted that way."
Kucinskis refrained from predicting the UGF's further actions regarding the Istanbul Convention and the possible destabilization of the current government. He expressed the opinion that the OL is in a more advantageous position, as it initially did not support joining the convention, while the UGF's position on this issue has been inconsistent, which likely weakened their voters' trust.
The OL politician believes that despite the conflicts in the coalition and the vote of no confidence submitted to Silina, she will retain her position, and the government will continue its work.
"The only question remains how many votes the coalition has now and how many it will have after some time," the deputy noted.
Kucinskis reminded of the negotiations on forming Silina's government and pointed out that the coalition was assembled from ideologically contradictory political forces. Now, according to him, the UGF, having agreed a few years ago to all the conditions for forming the government, "has lost very, very much."
"At the same time, the 'Progressives,' whom 'Unity' then said in the corridors that it was better to keep in bed than in opposition, now seem to be able to gradually 'eat' 'Unity' itself," Kucinskis assessed.
"The relations [in the coalition] are not the best, but I don't think any changes will occur," Kucinskis summarized, commenting on the current situation in the ruling coalition.
As reported, a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Silina, initiated by opposition parties, is included in the agenda of the Saeima for Thursday. The National Alliance (NA) and the OL expressed their lack of confidence in her.
According to the opposition, "the government has long been unable to take decisive measures to terminate economic cooperation with Russia and Belarus," which is why a vote of no confidence has been presented against Silina.
At the same time, against the backdrop of the UGF's vote in the Saeima for the denunciation of the Istanbul Convention, tense relations have arisen within the coalition. Nevertheless, coalition partners have stated their readiness to work on adopting the "security budget" for the next year.
The UGF, which is part of the coalition, stated that it does not intend to support the demand for Silina's resignation, while the 'Progressives' indicated that the outcome of the vote would depend on the UGF faction in the Saeima.
'New Unity' has 25 deputies in the Saeima, the UGF has 16, the 'Progressives' have 8. The United List has 13 deputies, the National Alliance has 12, and the parties 'Latvia First' and 'For Stability!' each have 8 deputies. There are also 10 non-affiliated deputies in the Saeima.
