Thursday, October 4, 2007

Comic a'la Lettonie

Since the spring turmoil, when former president Vīķe - Freiberga vetoed stipulations in security laws, Latvian PM decided not to come to direct TV interviews. He realized that his popularity ratings have collapsed, thus is giving only selective interviews. Several experts (Aigars Freimanis from Latvijas Fakti polling firm being most prominent among them) noticed that PM does show signs of fatigue. The PM has tried to hide acusations about his tiredness (but TV cameras rather often found him sleepin during government sessions), but today his indifference became public. The header of biggest rural daily Latvijas avīze reads - "if all collapses, thus Gundrs Bērziņš should come instead of me" ("Ja vadzis lūzīs, lai nāk Gundars" http://www2.la.lv/). Gundars Bērziņš is trusted leutenant of Mr Šķēle and graduate of the Agricultural University Mechanisation faculty (also former PM Šķēle and Minister of Defense are graduates of the same faculty). Such announcement very much reveals the decision making process within political elite. It is not the party caucus, or collegial body of coalition government, but the founder of the party who gives directions and his ministers sic leutenants must follow orders.

The order is being made to refresh the facade f the existing government, thus next week the government would step down, finally, huh, huh!! The most arkward fact, however, is that servants of the country (ministere - to serve in Latin) missinterpret their mandate. But here not only Latvia is to be blamed, because most of the countries executives desperately hold to their power. The issue now in Latvia is about the strategic move however, and the new premiership of Gundars Bēziņš cannot privide Latvian economy with fresh strategy out of abyss, he can get it only deeper in coul de sac due to his qualifications. Therefore my standpoint is that a proposed premiership of Gundars Bērziņš would only aggravate existing grudges among governing gang members. The head of the Free Trade Union Association Pēteris Krīgers announced yesterday, that they would demand offficial dismisal of Saeima in October 17 while meeting with president Zatlers. The October 17 is oficial UNO day of fight against poverty, and according to Latvian constitution only president is entitled to initiate the process of dismissing the parliament. Thus, in theory all previously mentioned factors could foster snap elections as I predicted couple of weeks ago already.

In the meantime the Anti-Corruption Agency (KNAB) is put on slow motion death row, and afer Kas notiek Latvjā? TV show heads of Police and Interior Ministry appeared contradictory and not up to their task. What I read from their announcements that it is not only dauble game, but several games simultaneously are played in order to save some crook's skin or enable continuation of holding to power. Columnist of the daily Diena Aivars Ozoliņš is excellently poignant today. He has condensed the existing situation of Latvian virtual rule of non-entity ministers into a nutshell. Those of you reading Latvian can enjoy fullness of Mr Ozoliņš article in http://www.diena.lv/. But "Varētu pasmieties par de Vaškēviča, fon Kalvīša, sera Ivara un citu plānā galdiņa bruņinieku ampēlēšanos, kurai neviens vairs netic..... Tā diemžēl nav pasaka, my quick translation for the rest of the world is: "we could laugh about De Vaskevics, Von Kalvitis, Sir Ivars, and other incompetent knights fighting with windmills, the fight nobody really believes into....but the virtual fight is not fairytale anymore." Comic, to not to say more, but very true comic indeed.


p.s. For those of you wondering in bewilderment about aristocratic adjectives in front of Latvian names, those are Latvian nouveau riche folks who are bying de, von and sir en masse to become wannabe aristocrats, thus, instead of iron rule of oligarchy there is iron rule of wannaby arictocracy at work in the post Soviet space:)

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