I Will Go to Talk, Not to Fight - Silina 0 15

Answering the question of what mindset she will take to the "Progressives," Silina said she is going for a conversation, not for a war. "I suggest we fight the real enemies and find a way to protect our state ourselves," the head of government stated.

She has repeatedly emphasized that coalition partners should think more about state interests in this situation, leaving emotions and political ambitions in the background.

Explaining her decision to nominate Colonel Raivis Melnis of the National Armed Forces (NAF) for the position of Minister of Defense, Silina stressed that, in her opinion, no one from the political environment would be able to adapt and orient themselves as quickly in the role of Minister of Defense as a professional whose daily work has already been related to this.

The head of government pointed out that she did not propose a politician from any other party for the position of Minister of Defense to avoid "political jealousy." Thus, she hopes that all coalition partners will be able to agree on supporting Melnis as a common candidate for the coalition.

In response to a question about responsibility, the Prime Minister admitted that perhaps she should have reacted earlier to the unfavorable situation in the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, as those working in the sector are now "coming out with their dissatisfaction with the defense system." At the same time, she stated that she is responsible for the government as a whole and does not want to reflect on how things could have been different at this moment.

The Prime Minister realizes that even after the new Minister of Defense takes office, foreign drones will continue to enter Latvia's airspace; however, she hopes that the responsible services will be able to respond more quickly and that over time there will be opportunities to intercept, redirect, or otherwise deal with them.

As reported, the "Progressives" faction in the Saeima will meet with the Prime Minister today at 14:00 to discuss the further work of the coalition.

The parties are expected to discuss political processes following the drone incident in Rezekne. Silina will attend the meeting with her candidate for the position of Minister of Defense, Colonel Melnis.

Before that, at 13:30, Silina and Melnis will meet with the "New Unity" faction in the Saeima, which has already stated that it fully supports Silina's actions.

The leader of the "Progressives" faction, Andris Shuvaev, in response to a question about whether the "Progressives" can nominate their candidate for the position of Minister of Defense, told the LETA agency that the party primarily wants to discuss with Silina the decisions and political processes from last Thursday. "Then we will decide what to do next," Shuvaev said.

It is currently unclear whether the Prime Minister still has a workable coalition, as after the decision to dismiss Minister Sprudins, the "Progressives" party stated that Silina is unable to responsibly lead the government.

The leadership of "New Unity" (NE) is currently not providing a clear idea of how to resolve the tense relations with the "Progressives" to maintain Silina's government coalition, instead trying to emphasize the approval of a new Minister of Defense.

The decision to demand Sprudins' resignation was made by the Prime Minister after the drone incidents in Latgale, pointing to a loss of trust in the minister and problems in the sector. NE also mentions other "serious reasons that have accumulated over a long time," namely, Sprudins is accused of "high (around 40%) staff turnover in the Ministry of Defense and the inability of two state secretaries to work with the minister."

For his part, Sprudins announced his resignation, taking political responsibility and trying to keep the army from being drawn into political games. At the same time, an assessment of the NAF's actions following the incidents is ongoing, as well as work to strengthen air defense.