President has made great contribution to Latvia's internal stability - PM Karins

RIGA - President Egils Levits has made a great contribution to maintaining Latvia's internal stability, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) told journalists today after a meeting with the president.

This was the final meeting between the prime minister and the president, as current Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics is due to take over as Latvia's next president this Saturday, July 8.

Karins thanked Levits for what he had done for the country and for the close cooperation over the past four years, which had been difficult and complicated. The public faced the Covid-19 pandemic, Belarus posed an ongoing hybrid threat to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and Russia launched a war against Ukraine which had economic consequences, including the energy crisis which Latvia managed to overcome.

"If we look at the regional context, Latvia has maintained internal stability, with a lot of credit due to the president. Thank you for that. (...) I think Levits has been a good president, Karins said, adding that his New Unity would have preferred Levits staying on for one more term, but the number of votes in parliament was not sufficient to ensure his reelection. 

According to Karins, his professional cooperation with Levits as president and Rinkevics as foreign minister has been excellent, as all three were in agreement on many issues. There have been high-quality discussions between the officials on how best to achieve the set objectives.

President Levits noted that Karins has been leading the country professionally. Politically, the prime minister has done his best, given the complex composition of the Saeima in 2018 and today. He has managed to hold the coalition together and at the same time implement reforms, which are not happening as quickly as he would like. This is professionalism and great political art, Levits said.

Levits also noted that he and Karins have similar political goals. Both of them want Latvia to be a democratic Western country, preserving its unique Latvian identity. Also, Karins and Levits agree on the need to reform the economy faster, because currently, according to the president, the economic transformation is taking place all over the world, especially in Europe.