Positions in the New Government Have Been Divided. Who Won and Who Lost? 0 15

Let us remind you that the prime minister candidate Andris Kulbergs decided to divide all available posts equally - 4 positions for each of the 4 political forces that entered the new ruling coalition. At the same time, Kulbergs decided not to take into account the number of parliamentary seats held by each party. Thus, formally, those political forces - primarily the National Alliance - found themselves in a more advantageous situation, as they have significantly fewer mandates in the Saeima than 'New Unity', yet the same number of ministerial portfolios. After the future government was formed, political scientists hurried to share their conclusions with the public about who won and who lost in this portfolio distribution game. The main loser was unequivocally identified by experts as 'New Unity' - not only did this political union with 28 votes in the Saeima receive only 4 ministerial portfolios, but they also assigned the post of Minister of Communications, which is essentially suicidal for any politician, to what was once the most powerful ruling party!

Of course, on one hand, if we consider the ratio of parliamentary mandates to ministerial portfolios, the political scientists are right - the 'New Unity' alliance appears to be the loser, as if they were punished for the collapse of their own government. On the other hand, this is precisely the case when... there is no evil without good! Yes, 'New Unity' has lost its former influence and half of its ministerial portfolios, but... it has also rid itself of the extremely unpopular Evika Silina among the public and even among the voters of this political force. She is neither in the prime minister's position nor in a ministerial post, and now 'New Unity' can put forward a new leader (a new locomotive), with whom 'New Unity' will lose less than with the leader Evika Silina! And the loss of influence for 4-5 months - until a new government is formed after the elections - this political force will somehow survive!

One of the main winners of this political game is called the United List - this political force, which at the end of last year, according to ratings, barely overcame the five percent barrier, has now received the post of prime minister and thus excellent starting positions for the elections. This assertion by experts is correct, but only on the condition that Kulbergs can indeed show himself positively in these 4 months before the elections and that voters will actually see some improvement or hints of improvement in life in the country. However, this mission - to improve life in the country in 4 months - seems practically impossible. If the previous government achieved nothing significant in almost 3 years, it is naive to expect any breakthrough in 4 months, especially in the context of an active election campaign! So, the seeming success of the United List today may fade away by September.

However, the real winner from all these government upheavals is the aforementioned National Alliance! And it is not about the number of positions, but about the nature of these positions! Three out of four posts are simply a gift of fate, as these areas are priorities for the National Alliance and fully align with the ideological positions of this party! By gaining control of the Ministry of the Interior, the National Alliance will be able to talk about how it strengthens the fight against illegal migration and tightens the conditions for the legal entry of citizens from third countries! Limiting migration is the priority of priorities for the National Alliance, and it even periodically highlights another priority - the fight against the Russian language in the public space. For this, by the way, the National Alliance will have two more ministries - education and culture. And although the latest ratings did not favor the National Alliance, it is evident that by mid-summer, the popularity of the National Alliance will begin to rise, as the nationalistically inclined electorate will now place certain hopes on the National Alliance.