The split between Latvians and Russians is already forgotten. Now the politicians of Latvia are unitedly dividing into pro-Istanbul and anti-Istanbul factions 0 24

Two dramas over one issue

First - in November 2023, a drama occurred when the Saeima ratified the Istanbul Convention, and now an even greater drama is being attempted in connection with the intention... to repeal this very convention in Latvia!

Unaccustomed to losing, the opponents of the convention's denunciation - the deputies of "New Unity" and the "Progressives" party - in a surge of emotions went "beyond the bounds" of drama and plunged into hysteria.

"Wake up!", "What are you doing?!" - representatives of the two mentioned parties shout, and to those who do not follow the topic of the convention, it may seem that the fate of Latvian statehood is at stake.

Opponents of leaving the convention accuse their opponents of wasting time on completely secondary issues with their bill. But at the same time, the opponents of the convention spent hours last Thursday on the podium, arguing their position regarding the convention! Who is stopping you... from being silent and thereby allowing the parliament to vote on this issue faster and... close the topic?!

Three goals of the opponents of denunciation

It is obvious that in the end, the bill to leave the convention will be adopted. However, the "Unity" and "Progressives" do not want to accept reality and continue their "resistance". In recent days, they have made desperate attempts to intimidate the "Green Farmers".

There are three goals.

First, to try to make the "Green Farmers" flinch and not vote for the denunciation of the convention. Or to politically discredit them.

Second, to raise their own political profile by showing voters the principled nature of their position.

Third, to create a sense of "guilt" among the "Green Farmers" so that, after playing around with the convention, they do not particularly try to "adjust" the budget-2026 and vote unanimously for the budget option prepared by the Ministry of Finance.

To achieve these goals, as they say, all means are good.

How can we do without the "hand of Moscow"?!

Thus, unfounded and even absurd accusations that the Kremlin stands behind the actions of the initiators of leaving the convention are also used, and if it does not, then leaving the convention ideologically and politically brings Latvia closer to Russia! This frenzied "scare" campaign involving Moscow has been joined by both leaders of the Saeima factions of "New Unity" and the "Progressives" party, as well as ministers from these parties.

"Supporters of leaving the Istanbul Convention - the United List, the National Alliance, Latvia First, and the Union of Greens and Farmers - are those who are trying to 'bring' Latvia back from Europe," wrote Foreign Minister Baiba Braže on social media.

No, this is not a typo - the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the deputies of the Saeima from the "Stability!" party "donkeys," distorting the name of the party leader. Here, as they say, no comments.

That the "Green Farmers" are blowing the Kremlin's horn was said by... all speakers from the "Progressives" and "New Unity" at the Saeima plenary session last Thursday. But such tactics are unlikely to yield the desired result - that is, a refusal to support the bill to leave the convention. But it will certainly anger the "Green Farmers," who will likely try to collapse the Silin government after the adoption of the budget-2026.

Will Rinkevics help them?

In any case, the opponents of Latvia's exit from the convention understand that... most likely, on October 30, the corresponding bill will be adopted. Therefore, the "Progressives" and "Unity" have already thought out their next steps.

Step one - an appeal to the president asking him not to proclaim the law on leaving the convention.

By the way, the mentioned opponents of the denunciation of the convention have been trying in various ways to "draw" Rinkevics into these political disputes regarding the convention in recent days. But the head of state wisely defended himself from this "honor": firstly, according to the Constitution, the president does not bear political responsibility, meaning he should not interfere in intra-parliamentary discussions, and secondly - he still needs to be elected for a second term and thus does not need to quarrel with the right-wing forces in parliament, which, it can be assumed, will receive many votes in the upcoming Saeima elections.

For the same reason, Rinkevics will most likely proclaim the bill. What is the point of returning it back to the Saeima if the deputies will gather again and reject the head of state's remarks?!

The next step - the Constitutional Court

If Rinkevics does not help the opponents of denunciation, then they have one more opportunity to cancel the denunciation - through the Constitutional Court. The arguments are that the procedure for adopting the bill was violated (refusal to obtain a conclusion from the Minister of Finance, etc.) and whether the Saeima of the same convocation can denounce a convention that it ratified two years ago.

Honestly, the arguments are weak. If the relevant committee, when considering the bill, is not related, by the way, to the budget, it does not mean that the bill was adopted with violations. By the way, no procedural violations were recorded by the Saeima's lawyers either.

And there is no law prohibiting the Saeima within one convocation... from changing its position. If such a law existed, then the parliament would not be able to change laws if it adopted them in the same convocation. But that would be absurd!

Ratification took... half an hour

Interestingly, "New Unity" and "Progressives" reproach their opponents for unjustifiably assigning urgency to the bill. But how did they act two years ago when the question of ratifying the Istanbul Convention was raised in the Saeima? Let's refer to the transcript of the Saeima plenary session from November 30, 2023.

The bill on ratification is presented by the head of the legal commission of the Saeima, Andrei Yudin ("New Unity").

Saeima Speaker: Please determine the deadline for submitting proposals for the second reading and the time for considering the bill in the second reading at the Saeima meeting.

A. Yudin: The commission decided on November 22 to propose to submit proposals within 15 minutes, which could be at 14:17 on November 30.

Chairing the meeting: At 14:17. And the time for consideration at the Saeima meeting?

A. Yudin: And consideration at today's Saeima meeting. (Interim shouts.)

Thus, 15 minutes were given for submitting proposals to the bill! It is clear that this was a form of mockery, as it is simply unrealistic to develop and manage to submit amendments to such a complex bill in 15 minutes.

As a result, the entire ratification process of the convention in the Saeima took... at most half an hour!

Supporters of denunciation held three meetings of the relevant commission, gave a day for submitting amendments to the bill, and before the second (final) reading, deputies will be able to discuss amendments at two commission meetings.

Finish and forget

In any case, it is clear that neither the presence nor absence of the convention will affect the situation with domestic violence and violence against women in any way. In general, it is indeed high time to wrap up this, to put it mildly, secondary issue and focus on solving pressing problems in the country.