RIGA - President Valdis Zatlers promised to address the issues plaguing the country with more "boldness and openness" in the future during an Oct. 15 press conference marking his first 100 days in office.
"I wish to speak about issues with more boldness and openness. In this office, fantasies cannot be permitted. It is brave to see things as they really are," the president said.
Zatlers followed through on his pledge immediately after his speech by blasting the government on a number of issues. The president discussed rising inflation, the government's proposed 2008 budget and problems with Latvia's health care system.
Zatlers accused the government of having made mistakes with regards to the anti-inflation plan passed by the Cabinet of Ministers last March. The president criticized the plan for having been implemented only in bits and pieces and for creating an "illusion" that inflation would fall to reasonable levels within a few months.
When asked by journalists about next year's proposed budget, Zatlers said that the "compromise" proposal would stand as a test for the government.
"The adoption of this budget (for 2008) will be the exam for the government. It will show if the government's work was successful, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If it is unsatisfactory, everybody will see the consequences," the president said.
The president also blasted the Health Ministry for its failure to deal with the widespread practice of making "envelope payments" to doctors 's a practice that Zatlers, himself a former surgeon, has admitted taking part in.
"I am absolutely dissatisfied with myself and with what the Health Ministry has accomplished. The work of the [Health Ministry's] task force dissipated within a few weeks without achieving the necessary results, and it seems that everybody is trying to forget about it," Zatlers said.
Later that day, the wildly popular former President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said that while it would "not be proper" for her to comment on Zatlers' first 100 days in office, she is satisfied that he has preserved the continuity of the Latvian presidential institution. She said that the incumbent president used the politically "quiet" summer months to become acquainted with the Latvian people and make a number of foreign visits. She would not comment, however, on whether Zatlers should have reacted more sharply to specific situations, saying only that the president "should decide for himself." Political scientists have noted that Zatlers has little political experience, and is still in the process of learning the intricacies of the Latvian system. "The person is mastering the position. It is the biggest thing that has happened during this time," Aigars Freimanis, director of Latvijas Fakti pollster, told The Baltic News Service.
Freimanis noted that as the president is still learning the position, he cannot possibly be totally independent. He added that the president is not yet ready to make risky decisions.
During the press conference, Zatlers acknowledged the analyst's criticism but said that he was totally independent, and that it is necessary to be very "pragmatic" when making important decisions.
