Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins has resigned, citing a breakdown in relations with members of his multi-party ruling coalition.
Latvia, along with its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Estonia, has been a major voice in urging the European Union and NATO to put more pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Karins’ center-right New Unity party won a National election in October 2022, capturing 26 of 100 seats in a parliament divided into seven parties.
According to a statement on the social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he blamed Monday’s decision on coalition partners “blocking the work for prosperity and economic growth.”
Karins’ party governed the 1.9 million-person European Union nation, with support from the conservative National Alliance and the United List of smaller parties providing him with a slender Parliamentary majority.
However, relations with the alliance deteriorated after it failed to field a joint candidate for the May Presidential election.
Karins made an unsuccessful attempt to attract other parties into government on Friday.
They included the left-wing Progressives Party, the Greens, and the Farmers Union, a coalition of conservative organisations led by Aivars Lembergs, the mayor of Ventspils, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for alleged corruption.
Karins’ New Unity Party will choose its Prime Minister candidate on Wednesday, he said.
President Edgars Rinkevics is in charge of appointing a new prime minister and attempting to build a government. This nominee would also face a vote of confidence in Parliament.
The next Parliamentary election in Latvia is set for 2026.
