«Progressives» have now reached the Minister of Economics. What will he say in response? 0 59

As much as the ruling parties may suffocate each other in friendly embraces! Let us remind you that first, before the coalition council meeting, the "Green Farmers" demanded that the Prime Minister respond to the incident at the kebab shop, where a man from Pakistan made inappropriate remarks to an 11-year-old girl. And right in the middle of the coalition council meeting, the "Progressives" party issued a statement demanding explanations from... Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers) regarding food prices.

To discuss Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis's (UGF) plans to reduce food prices, as well as the planned reduced VAT rates on certain food products, the parliamentary faction of the "Progressives" party invited the minister for a conversation on October 8. Additionally, this meeting aims to clarify the minister's vision on the possibilities of establishing criminal liability for prohibited agreements or cartels.

"As is known, the topic of cartels, or prohibited agreements, has recently become relevant, as suspicions regarding cartels in the funeral industry arose within a month, and a new cartel was discovered in construction. Thus, the question of the possibility of criminalizing prohibited agreements in procurement becomes increasingly relevant, as called for by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs at the beginning of 2025.

"In our conversation with the minister, we want to clarify the results of his promised reduction in food prices, as well as how exactly the minister plans to reflect the reduced VAT rates in the prices of goods. We also want to dedicate part of the conversation with the minister to the issue of combating cartels in the economy, for example, by establishing criminal liability for prohibited agreements," stated Andris Šuvajev, chairman of the parliamentary faction of the "Progressives" party.

There is no doubt that the "Green Farmers" will not remain silent and will surely demand some explanations from one of the ministers from the "Progressives" party - reportedly, it will be Minister of Communications Aigars Švinka, who has accumulated questions regarding Rail Baltica, the financial situation in "Latvijas dzelzceļš," the port reform, and the listing of airBaltic on the stock exchange. It will be interesting to see how long the ruling parties will publicly "hit" each other and how it will all end.