Former president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga stated that it is extremely irresponsible to rock the "government boat" after the decision of the 'Progressives' party to leave the government of Evika Siliņa. She is echoed by former president Valdis Zatlers.
In a broadcast on Latvian Radio, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga said that now "those who are in the boat and are entrusted with leading our country forward," even if disagreements arise, should resolve them, "but to rock the government boat at this moment, in my opinion, is very irresponsible."
"As president, I always strived for us to have a functioning government. A government torn by internal conflicts weakens its ability to act. And that is something we cannot afford," said the former president.
The actual collapse of the government was triggered by Siliņa's demand for the Minister of Defense from the "Progressives," Andris Sprūds, to resign after several incidents involving drones.
Vīķe-Freiberga, in turn, pointed out that it is necessary to seriously assess what violation is truly serious enough to warrant a minister's resignation, and what is simply a coincidence of various circumstances where the question of accountability does not arise.
For his part, former president Valdis Zatlers believes that "a very serious childish political disease is manifesting here."
He emphasized that the Constitution clearly states that it is the prime minister who appoints ministers, and if any minister has lost trust, the prime minister has every right to replace them.
"Not like in kindergarten — everyone has their own voice and everyone wants to be the leader; no, the leader in the government is the prime minister, and this must be respected."
"I will say it straight. It all depends on how the 'Progressives' understand this situation. If they know Latvia's political history well enough, then those who leave the government in the last six months before elections always lose elections because it is considered that they have left everything halfway... ...If they want to stay, then they need to explain very well how they will work until the elections," Zatlers said.
