There is still a year until the parliamentary elections, but apparently, politicians have decided that the sooner they start "making noise" and caring for the public good, as well as demonstrating vigorous activity, the better their results will be at the hour "X" — that is, on October 3, 2026, when the elections for the 15th Saeima will take place.
Is Advertising in Russian Also Banned?
The National Alliance is pushing its linguistic agenda — yesterday they submitted amendments to the Electronic Media Law to the Saeima, which prohibit advertising on TV and radio in any language other than the state language.
It seems absurd: how can a democratic, rule-of-law state prohibit advertisers on a private radio station from airing an advertisement in Russian?!
On the other hand, a couple of years ago, at the behest of the same National Alliance, election campaigning in Russian was banned in Russian media, and subsequently, the Constitutional Court concluded that all of this is quite in line with the Satversme. There is no doubt that at the upcoming plenary session, the deputies will support these amendments from the National Alliance by a majority vote in the first reading, meaning they will be sent to committee.
It is clear that the goal of such a ban on advertising in minority languages is to economically suffocate commercial media that do not operate in Latvian. This is likely also the aim of the proposal to deprive Russian media of the preferential VAT rate starting next year, applying a rate of 21% to periodicals in Russian and books in Russian.
The First Debates Are Approaching
Speaking of language. Soon, the first parliamentary debates on language policy in modern history will take place. The day before, members of the legal commission and the education commission met jointly to review the relevant government report on what has been done and what is planned in strengthening the state language.
As is known, annual debates on foreign policy and economics take place in the Saeima, and now — although every two years — language debates will also be held. The language debates are scheduled for next week in parliament.
Yesterday, at a joint meeting of the Saeima commission, former Supreme Council deputy Velta Chebotarenoka urged everyone to follow her example: "I have been speaking only Latvian with everyone for 35 years." She was echoed by Inese Muhka, director of the State Language Center at the Ministry of Justice: "The Latvian language should be the first choice, and it is precisely Latvians who should promote and ensure this. The state language should be heard and represented everywhere, in all areas of life, in any life situations."
Tell Me, Minister
While the National Alliance is advancing the usual language issues typical for this political force or simply continuing to fight against the Russian language in public space, other political forces are... "settling scores with each other." It is amusing that this matter is being handled by partners in the ruling coalition.
Recall that the "Pandora's box" of calling government partners to account was opened by Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity), who organized a public interrogation of Welfare Minister Rainis Uzulnieks (Union of Greens and Farmers) regarding the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
The "progressives" picked up the baton, demanding explanations from Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers) about the unsuccessful fight against food prices. The "progressives" also sent a letter to Interior Minister Richard Kozlovskis (New Unity) to find out when the authorities would strip Latvia's citizenship from the richest citizen of Latvia, billionaire Peter Aven.
And this week, the "progressives" again demanded explanations from Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze (Union of Greens and Farmers) regarding the spending of funds allocated to the forest fund.
"Are we redheads?!" — apparently, this is what the "green farmers" decided and also began to draft a request — this time to Foreign Minister Baiba Braže. The "green farmers" want to know from her why Latvia could not secure a special status in the field of migration in Brussels, as Poland did. Apparently, this status would allow protection from the need to accept migrants in the country.
Swapped Luxembourg for Jekabpils
It is noteworthy that on Tuesday, during a government meeting, there was a spat between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Welfare. Prime Minister Evika Silina, apparently already knowing that Welfare Minister Rainis Uzulnieks (Union of Greens and Farmers) refused to fly to Luxembourg for an EU meeting on combating various forms of violence, including against sexual minorities, asked the Minister why he decided to ignore the high-level event.
In response, Rainis Uzulnieks candidly admitted that LGBT issues (lesbians, gays, trans, and bisexuals) are not a priority for him, so he decided to replace the trip to Luxembourg... with attending a youth conference in Jekabpils, where they will also discuss combating violence.
The Prime Minister stated that it is actually the minister's duty to represent Latvia at EU meetings. Rainis Uzulnieks countered that his presence at this event is unnecessary, as the agenda only includes discussions, not the consideration of any legal acts of the European Union.
It is noteworthy that at the EU meeting in Luxembourg, Latvia will be represented by third-tier officials, and not even the Latvian ambassador to the EU, but his deputy.
If this continues, soon there will be no minister left whom partners have not called in for explanations. Of course, all of this could be discussed at closed meetings of the ruling coalition, meaning not airing dirty laundry in public. However, acting secretly is not in the interest of politicians, as elections are already approaching...
Surviving Until December
A logical question arises: how can the government work in such a "wonderful" environment? So far, the partners have only agreed on one thing — they will not sink the government until the budget is adopted, that is, until December 5...
And what then? It is unlikely that the partners will create a crisis during the Christmas and New Year holidays. But in January... quite possibly. Especially since there are at least two more possible options for the ruling coalition in the current Saeima.
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