Kulbergs Prepares a New Government: Why Was the Meeting with Deputies Decided to Be Held in a Secret Location?

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs ("United List") will hold a meeting with the newly elected deputies of his political association in a secret location outside of Riga. The agenda includes discussing the program of the future government, planned reforms, and further steps for coalition formation. According to the LETA agency, citing the Prime Minister's communication advisor Elina Shverna, the meeting was initially scheduled to take place in the Saeima building. The parliament was indicated as the venue in the Prime Minister's work schedule released last Friday. However, on Monday morning, Shverna announced a change of plans. According to her, the meeting will not take place in the Saeima but outside the capital. The representative of the Prime Minister did not disclose the exact location of the negotiations. The reasons for the change of venue were also not specified. Kulbergs explained that before starting official consultations with other political forces, he needs to discuss future actions with the deputies of his own association. According to the Prime Minister, it is important to secure their understanding, support, and willingness to participate in the implementation of the planned reforms. Kulbergs noted that the plan for changes has already been prepared and will soon be presented to the entire faction of the "United List." After the intra-party discussion, the Prime Minister intends to move on to negotiations with potential partners for the ruling coalition. Preliminary meetings of the "United List" with the National Alliance and "New Unity" are scheduled for October 28. At the same time, Kulbergs emphasizes that negotiations on forming the government should not start with the distribution of ministerial positions, but with agreeing on the principles of joint work. Among the main issues are the decision-making process, methods for resolving disagreements between partners, and the distribution of responsibility for achieving results. It is also planned to agree on regular public presentations of the government's work results and the organization of dialogue with society and social partners. The reform program being prepared by Kulbergs touches on several areas of state policy. In particular, it concerns possible changes in the structure of ministries and the organization of government work, strengthening budget discipline, reducing bureaucracy, and cutting government expenditures. Another priority that the Prime Minister mentions is stimulating economic growth. Kulbergs emphasized that implementing some of the proposed measures will require legislative changes. Therefore, the future government will need to ensure support for its initiatives in the Saeima. At the same time, the Prime Minister does not rule out any of the possible options for forming the cabinet of ministers. In particular, the possibility of creating a minority government, which does not have a stable majority of deputies' votes, is also being considered. After the elections to the 15th Saeima, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs tasked Kulbergs with leading the process of forming a new government. In the elections, the "United List" received 41 deputy mandates and became the largest political force in the new parliament. However, for a self-sufficient majority in the 100-seat Saeima, at least 51 mandates are needed, so the association will have to negotiate with other parties. The National Alliance received ten seats, while "New Unity" received seven. Thus, together these three political forces hold 58 mandates. The parliament also saw the entry of "Latvia First" with 17 deputies, "Sovereign Power/Young Latvians Union" with 15 mandates, and "Progressives," which received 10 seats. The final configuration of the future coalition has not yet been determined. The first step will be to agree on the reform plan within the "United List," after which negotiations with other parliamentary forces will begin.