In Latvia, if anyone is not aware, there is a concept known as "a unified foreign policy." This means that at least the highest officials coordinate their actions and even statements regarding foreign policy activities.
Did Not Consult with Colleagues
But on Tuesday, something went wrong. At least, such a conclusion can be drawn from the reaction of politicians.
It turned out that the Chairperson of the Saeima, Daiga Mierina (Union of Greens and Farmers), responded to the request of the speakers of the parliaments of the USA and Israel and signed their letter to the Nobel Committee calling for Donald Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
It became clear that this "demarche" by the Speaker of the Saeima was not coordinated with the President, the Prime Minister, nor, apparently, with the Foreign Minister. According to one source, Ms. Mierina did inform the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister about her decision to join the letter from her colleagues in the USA and Israel, while another source claims that Ms. Mierina only informed them after the fact, that is, when the letter had already been signed and sent to Oslo.
In the corridors of power, rumors are circulating that Foreign Minister Baiba Broka was the most outraged by the situation, as the sending of the letter to the Nobel Committee coincided with another round of harsh statements from the President of the USA regarding Greenland and the corresponding statements from Northern European countries, with which the Baltic states also expressed solidarity.
After the media reported on this step taken by the Speaker of the Saeima, part of the opposition and some media outlets attacked Ms. Mierina, accusing the Chairperson of the Latvian Parliament of almost undermining the principles of a unified foreign policy.
The coalition's communication regarding the personal decision of the Chairperson of the Saeima, Daiga Mierina (Union of Greens and Farmers), to sign a letter to the Nobel Committee proposing to award the 2025 Peace Prize to Donald Trump discredits Latvia, stated the leader of the opposition United List, Edgars Tavars. According to him, there are clearly defined institutions in Latvia responsible for shaping foreign policy, and there are actions that are simply unacceptable in this area. "The ruling coalition has now staged a quarrel that truly shames Latvia in the eyes of Latvia's international partners - both the USA and European countries, including the Baltics and Denmark, as well as Latvian society itself," the opposition politician stated.
Unexpected, but Respectable
As expected, neither the Prime Minister nor the President publicly condemned the Speaker of the Saeima and only diplomatically stated that they respect the decision of the Chairperson of the Latvian Parliament. This is quite a logical tactic. What else could Edgars Rinkevics say? Start publicly criticizing the Speaker?
Firstly, we are talking about the second person in the state - the Chairperson of the Parliament, who, in principle, has the right to fulfill the request of the speakers of Latvia's allied countries - the USA and Israel.
Secondly, after all, Daiga Mierina supported not just anyone, but the President of the USA himself!
In the Name of Peace
Daiga Mierina herself noted in an interview with Latvian TV the peacemaking merits of the President of the USA in the Middle East, efforts to achieve long-term peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and attempts to end the war in Ukraine.
The Speaker of the Saeima is confident that this letter will also help de-escalate the situation in Greenland. "Dialogue is needed; all parties must exhale and find a mutually acceptable solution regarding the Arctic," said the Chairperson of the Latvian Parliament.
Well, whether all parties, including the other leaders of our country, are ready to "exhale," Ms. Mierina will find out today - at a closed meeting of the "foreign policy five," where the "act" of the Speaker of the Saeima is also planned to be discussed.
To clarify: the "foreign policy five" refers to a meeting with the President on foreign policy issues, which, alongside the head of state, includes the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Speaker of the Saeima, and the head of the Saeima's Foreign Affairs Commission. We dare to assume that Ms. Mierina will not receive much praise from the other participants in the meeting, but they will not particularly scold her either. Especially considering that the existence of the Silinie government de facto depends on the goodwill of the "green farmers," whom Mierina represents.
It is clear that Latvian leaders find themselves, to put it mildly, in a delicate situation - on one hand, the USA is our main strategic (transatlantic) partner, which has done nothing bad for Latvia, only good; on the other hand, the "Greenland issue" forces Latvia to support the common position of the EU and support Denmark itself, as an EU country that was one of the first to recognize Latvia's independence.
In any case, as political scientists have noted, nothing dramatic has happened in light of the autograph from Speaker Mierina. After all, Latvia has officially recognized Trump's peacemaking efforts and that he deserves the Peace Prize.
