You are a good person, but you do not fit the position of Minister of Defense

At the last plenary session of the Saeima before the Easter holidays, heated discussions are taking place regarding the opposition's demand to dismiss the Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds. This initiative from the "Latvia First" faction was a reaction to the delayed actions and poor communication of the head of the defense ministry concerning the arrival of drones on Latvian territory.

"Mr. Sprūds, you are a good person, but in my opinion, you are absolutely unfit for the position of Minister of Defense. And this is a time when we simply cannot afford that. It is necessary for responsibility and leadership to be in much stronger hands — tougher, more decisive, responsible, and capable of acting. Most importantly, there must be reliable crisis management in the eyes of the people, which, unfortunately, is lacking.

Huge funds have been allocated from the state budget for the defense of Latvia. And yet our people live in fear and uncertainty. We must not be weak, we must not be unprepared. I would very much like to believe, Mr. Sprūds, that you will come here today and say from this podium that we, you as the Minister of Defense, have a clear plan on how to respond if a threat is created to important infrastructure facilities for us, such as the airport or the Riga hydroelectric power station. These questions have been raised, but we have not heard answers, no one has given any assurance — yes, we have a plan on how we will respond if such a situation arises, God forbid," motivated the demand for resignation the head of the "Latvia First" faction Linda Liepiņa.

Equally critical of Andris Sprūds' work was the National Alliance deputy Jānis Dombrava: "If the minister says he has created a wall for drones, that is a very loud statement that must be backed up. If there are holes, then there are problems. Perhaps Mr. Sprūds would have been a good Minister of Defense in 2006, when there were completely different geopolitical challenges, but not now, when there is an active phase of hybrid warfare, which requires very quick actions, where not only beautiful speeches are needed, but also really concrete work. Well, he cannot provide that."

In turn, deputy Ramona Petraviča pointed out the "achievements" of Sprūds in civil defense: "Where are the shelters in Riga, Daugavpils, Liepāja, or other major cities? Where is the clear plan for sheltering the population in the event of an explosion, shock wave, or shrapnel? This is not only negligence, it is a threat to every resident of Latvia. How will the population be relocated? Where will thousands of people who need to be relocated to Kurzeme be placed? How will evacuation abroad take place? Is this even planned? Are medical professionals ready to work outside hospitals, in the field? How is interaction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the Ministry of Health occurring?"

The leader of the "Progressives" parliamentary faction Andris Šuvajevs tried to shift the focus... to the very submitters of the resignation request - representatives of the "Latvia First" party. Šuvajevs "reminded" the party leader Ainars Šlesers of his recent meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Šuvajevs called Orbán a friend of Putin...

After the break, the debates on the resignation will continue.