“We need at least 100,000 people who would like to defend their land with arms in hand.”
The former mayor of Ogre and one of the prominent figures of the National Alliance, Egils Helmanis, criticized the visit to Ogre by his "ideological opponent" - Minister of Defense Andris Spruds ("Progressives").
"It has only been a couple of days since I am no longer the chairman of the Ogre Regional Council. With the elections approaching, more politicians will use their official positions to recruit new people into their ranks. Today, Spruds visited the Ogre Regional Council and also the Ogre State Gymnasium, where he only met with the twelfth-grade classes - in these classes, most have reached the age of 18. And these young people can go to the elections. Politicians should be evaluated by what they have done, not by their speeches. Unfortunately, I cannot name what Mr. Spruds has done for the defense of Latvia. Perhaps readers could name Mr. Spruds' contribution to the security of Latvia.
My personal opinion is that the progressive Spruds is even harmful as Minister of Defense. In a public letter to the president, I asked for him to be dismissed so that a professional person could take his place.
We need at least 100,000 people who would like to defend their land with arms in hand. I would like to see what the dynamics of recruitment have been since Spruds took office. How many drones have been supplied to Ukraine, is the promised being fulfilled? Mr. Spruds cannot answer these questions.
Ogre will never be led by progressives; you can come to visit us and observe the progress in nature and the buildings we are constructing because you have no such experience," wrote E. Helmanis on the social network Facebook.
