The government is like a team, and if a minister does not understand his task, the Prime Minister must ask that this minister “step aside”, the President of Latvia said in the Latvian Television program “Today’s Issue”. Egils Levits.
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One week ago, after a meeting with Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (JV) and Speaker of the Saeima Ināra Mūrniece (NA), the President told reporters that the current course in curbing Covid-19 was not sufficient, therefore new and concrete action was needed.
Asked if anything had changed in the President’s view since the meeting, Levits responded in the affirmative, stressing that, in essence, the government had taken a step in the right direction by restricting people-to-people contacts. “The infection is spread through human contact, and the less chance of contact, the slower the spread of the virus,” said a senior state official.
At the same time, he acknowledged that it would have been better if this “turn” had taken place sooner. Asked how he assessed the government’s actions last week, when it made a decision, then corrected it, and then clarified what it had decided, Levits stressed that it was an unsatisfactory style, while adding that the direction of the decisions made was the right one.
“We are in a storm and the ship is being taken out of the sea by a team. The team is led by the captain or the prime minister. We all rely on the team and its captain,” the President emphasized, stressing that this team must work together as a unified system. It is not acceptable that the ministers “tweeted” after the decision was made in the government, that it could have been different, and that the desired result was not achieved for the sector represented by the particular minister.
“This points to a lack of oral discipline among ministers. Everyone needs to be aware that they are part of the same team and will all be responsible together. Everyone has a role to play and the prime minister’s job is to make and work together,” Levits said. , in his opinion, Kariņš has done it to a large extent. So far, he has led this “complex coalition” quite successfully and has done what he needs to do.
If a minister does not understand his role in this team, the Prime Minister should ask him to perhaps “step aside”. Asked if he thought Kariņš should demand the resignation of a minister, Levits said that if the ministers did not observe parliamentary discipline, then yes. But he hopes that ministers will realize that there is a team and will respect it from tomorrow.
Asked whether, if the government did not comply, there were fears that the government would fall, Levits replied that it was difficult to say. According to him, the prime minister sees his role in ensuring that this discipline is respected, and the president reminded that the prime minister has the right to demand the resignation of ministers if this is not observed.
“We expect the government to receive and continue the turnaround,” Levits said.
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