Siliņa then appointed Latvian army Col. Raivis Melnis as a replacement, but the Progressives’ withdrawal left Siliņa’s New Unity alliance without a parliamentary majority.
Latvia, like its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, has been on high alert since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, warning that spillovers from the war could test NATO’s eastern flank.
“At this moment, political jealousy and narrow party interests have taken precedence over responsibility,” Silina said Thursday, adding that “political windbags chose not a solution, but a crisis.”
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs previously said he would meet with all parliamentary parties on Friday, “given the political situation of the country.”