More talks needed to form new government, says President

2013-12-04
From wire reports, RIGA

Latvian President Andris Berzins (photo by Saeima)

More talks will be held next week to form a new government, Latvian President Andris Berzins has said.

Following talks on Dec. 4, Berzins said he had decided not to nominate any of the prime ministerial candidates that had been put forward by parties.

They include Latvian defense minister Artis Pabriks, MEP Krisjanis Karins and the PM's advisor and former culture minister, Ints Dalderis.

The talks come after the resignation of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis who said he was stepping down following the Maxima supermarket collapse which left 54 dead. Dombrovskis said he was taking political responsibility for the disaster.

Berzins said he needed to evaluate possible PM and ministerial candidates closer before making a final decision. He added that if these candidates do not meet his criteria, he holds the right to recall a PM candidate before a Saeima vote.

Earlier, the head of the Union of Greens and Farmers group (ZZS) Augusts Brigmanis confirmed that the party would form part of a coalition with the Unity political party. Talks are still needed with coalition partners to find a common ground on issues, he said.

Valdis Dombrovskis said that the Unity party has made it clear that its current offer of cooperation is not just for several months until the next Saeima elections, and that he hopes for cooperation between all center-right parties in a broad coalition after the Saeima elections, reports LETA.

''We made the cooperation offer while keeping in mind the situation after next year's elections,'' Dombrovskis told reporters.

The two sides pointed out that division of ministerial posts was not discussed. Unity members have said they are prepared to lead the formation of the government and put forward its prime minister candidate, while the Greens/Farmers agreed in principle to be part of this government.

ZZS board chairman Uldis Augulis said it would like its members to be appointed ministers of agriculture, environmental protection and regional development, and transport.