The continuation of the "wooden" scandal that began at the end of last year was easily predictable.
Let us remind you: at the end of last year, doubts suddenly arose regarding the legality or, more precisely, the justification of the decision made by the government in December 2023 to support the woodworking industry.
The Ministry of Agriculture, which was then headed by Armands Krauze (Union of Greens and Farmers), concluded based on a letter and expert assessment from the woodworking industry association that private woodworking companies could suffer significant financial losses, and therefore it was necessary to force the state enterprise "Latvijas valsts meži" to reconsider previously concluded procurement contracts.
The Siliņa government, as is usually the case, agreed with the arguments of the sectoral ministry, and the corresponding decision was made by the government.
Now, after suspicions of unjustified support (lobbying) for private business, the Prime Minister was forced to appoint a commission to investigate the newly revealed circumstances. This was insisted upon by one of the coalition parties - the "Progressives" - which has long been "at war" with another coalition force - the Union of Greens and Farmers.
The "Green Farmers" did not remain silent and attacked the Minister of Transport from the "Progressives" Atis Švinka - both for the mess with the implementation of Rail Baltica and for the inability to restore order in the organization of regional passenger transport. Let us remind you that relations between the "Green Farmers" and the "Progressives" deteriorated after the former decided to support the opposition bill on withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
In any case, the commission created by the Prime Minister confirmed suspicions that the government's decision was made without proper assessment of all circumstances. In other words, the state should not have made concessions to private business, as the woodworking companies were not threatened by any bankruptcy.
Having studied data from publicly available resources, the commission concluded that although there was a significant increase in production costs and a decrease in export volumes at that time, the financial situation of the supported enterprises was stable and satisfactory.
The commission pointed out that the report "On the reduction of factors negatively affecting the competitiveness of the Latvian forestry industry" was poorly prepared, and the information presented in it was one-sided.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Armands Krauze, has already dismissed the commission's conclusions, stating that the commission members superficially assessed all the facts and circumstances. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has already hurried to... demand explanations from the Minister of Agriculture. It cannot be ruled out that Evika Siliņa may even demand Krauze's resignation.
However, this would be quite a bold move from the Prime Minister, as Krauze is also one of the leaders of the Union of Greens and Farmers. And his dismissal from the ministerial position, according to rumors from the corridors of power, could indeed lead to a government crisis.
One thing is clear: even if the Siliņa government withstands again, as it did after the "storm" at the end of last year, scandals within the coalition will be permanent.
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