Joint List Offers Coalition Seminar on Improving Government Cooperation

“Joint List” (AS) offers to hold a coalition seminar on the work to be done in order to improve cooperation in the government.

This was expressed by AS politicians, Speaker of the Saeima Edvards Smiltēns, Edgars Tavars and Andris Kulbergs after a meeting with Prime Minister Krišjāni Kariņa (JV).

Smiltēns emphasized that the government has very dynamically approached a series of tasks that are included in the government’s declaration. Likewise, there is mostly an understanding in the five topics brought up by Kariņš, only the Istanbul Convention still needs to be technically discussed, whether reservations or a preamble are included in connection with one norm that raises questions.

Tavars stated that at the request of the AS, it is also planned to hold tripartite negotiations together with the National Union (NA).

It has already been announced that currently the ruling coalition consists of “Jaunā vietība”, NA and AS, but after the presidential elections, in which the coalition parties were unable to agree on support for one candidate, Kariņš has started negotiations on a possible expansion of the coalition with ZZS and “Progresīvajii”, which NA and AS categorically opposes.

Kariņš has previously stated that he wants the expansion of the coalition in order to achieve smoother work in organizing the school network, improving the health care situation, labor issues, moving state-owned capital companies to the stock exchange and social issues, that is, the ratification of the Istanbul Convention is necessary “as a symbolic but deeply important Saeima gesture” and the execution of the decision of the Constitutional Court, which is related to the regulation of cohabitation.