Debates regarding the approval of the new government have been ongoing in the Saeima for over two hours.
The leader of the now-opposition party "Progressives," Andris Šuvaevs, attacked the "green farmers" overseeing the Ministry of Agriculture from the Saeima podium. They particularly faced criticism for their management of the company "Latvijas valsts meži": "The dividend policy of 'Latvijas valsts meži' is not only opaque, it is frankly manipulative. Profit forecasts are lowered and then raised again throughout the year, thereby creating supposedly new free funds that are directed towards various projects of the Ministry of Agriculture. What kind of projects is not entirely clear. Meanwhile, for the last few years, we have been hearing about the need for everyone to save money, which often means cutting services to the population. And while the Ministry of Agriculture is swimming in money, the government has been unable, for example, to provide funds for diabetes patients, as we well know. And while the 'green farmers' were telling everyone how necessary it was to save 850 million euros, the Ministry of Agriculture quietly shuffled papers to hide the large incomes of 'Latvijas valsts meži' from society, from the government, and from the Saeima."
In turn, independent Saeima deputy Aleksandrs Kiršteins called for an end to spending money on "objects of communism" - the unfinished construction in the area of the railway station in Riga and near Riga Airport, and to redirect funds intended for the implementation of Rail Baltica towards education and demographics. The deputy also called for the creation of self-defense units (aizsargi) that could be used to fight against an aggressor in case of war. "These would be 100,000 armed people who could protect the country at hour X," the politician explained.
