The President of Latvia Andris Berzins

Within a week, political parties will definitely reach an agreement on the coalition outline, if not, I will have to use the tools at my disposal, says the President of Latvia Andris Berzins.

Parties are pragmatic enough, so I believe that the final agreement will be reached by October 17, Berzins told in an interview to LNT broadcast 900 sekundes.

Asked how negotiations between him and political forces will take place, Berzins reveals that politicians are first heard out and only then discussions take place. «Negotiations were very similar with all parties because, for example, they have a similar standpoint regarding the euro introduction, loan repayment and taxes. Only some details differ – in terms of the time period or numbers necessary to achieve the goals,» Berzins says.

«The parties told me that they had discussed everything. Now they are just adjusting views, which will be followed by talks on specific ministerial candidates. There have not been any negotiations on the Prime Minister candidate yet. This matter has not been talked through with Harmony Center either,» the President says, adding that his condition foresees the widest possible coalition that is capable of working all three years.

Berzins concedes that when the negotiations get specific on who will be the Saeima Speaker and Prime Minister, things will grow more complicated. Therefore, other issues should not be forgotten.

The President also points out that it is now too early to assess who is the biggest initiator in negotiations on the coalition-forming – this will be seen next week.

Parties must also take into account that Berzins will not only actively keep track of who will be the Prime Minister candidate, but also of ministerial candidates, so that these posts are not taken by people who received «minuses» from voters.

The current Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is a professional, yet it does not mean that other people are not. There might be enough candidates. Not only professionalism matters, but also management experience to prevent that some Parliament factions lead the work of the Cabinet of Ministers, the President is convinced.

Asked to give an assessment of the government’s performance regarding the national airline airBaltic, Berzins holds the view that this issue has been dragged on and that the government should have addressed it sooner rather than find itself at a point where both parties are even no longer sitting at the same table to solve the situation.

While commenting on his visit to the United States, the President reveals that many have the feeling that Latvia has well balanced the crisis problems. «Now the question is how we will move on and generate funds to repay the loan. Moody’s and the International Monetary Fund were interested in this. I told them that political processes will not have negative affects. We will still remain a reliable partner and look for opportunities to repay the loan, while promoting the national growth. The necessity to carry on work is the main conclusion after this meeting,» Berzins concluded.