Usakovs says postpone debate

  • 2011-08-03
  • From wire reports

RIGA - Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs, who is one of Harmony Center’s candidates for prime minister in the September parliamentary elections, says that the party would find it difficult to cooperate with far-right, as well as far-left, parties, reports news agency LETA.

Commenting on the LNT morning show ‘900 sekundes’ on July 28, the establishment of ex-president Valdis Zatlers’ Reform Party (ZRP), he pointed out, could see it gain many seats in the next Saeima. Harmony Center would not have any problems in cooperation with ZRP, Unity or Union of Greens and Farmers. On the other hand, talks with the nationalist alliance All for Latvia!-For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (VL-TB/LNNK) would be difficult.
The mayor also doubted there would be any cooperation with the far-left Osipov Party.

Usakovs reiterated his party colleague Janis Urbanovics’ proposal to postpone the debate on national and historical issues - namely the Soviet occupation of Latvia - for three years and, in the meantime, deal with economic and social problems in the country. The mayor explained that the said issues include the large number of non-citizens, the use of the Russian language and insufficient representation of minorities in the state administration; however, Harmony Center is willing to not bring them up during the 11th Saeima’s term of office.

Several political forces have already announced that Harmony Center will only be a part of any ruling coalition if the party publicly admits to Latvia’s occupation by the Soviet Union.
Harmony will have two candidates for the prime minister - Nils Usakovs, and Harmony chairman and head of Harmony Center’s Saeima group, Janis Urbanovics. “I am not backing out, but I have always supported the progress of young and talented people in politics,” said Urbanovics. “By leading the Riga City Council for two years, the leader of Harmony Center Usakovs has proved with his work that he is ready to assume and successfully fulfill the duties of the prime minister.”

Harmony Center is made up of Harmony and the European Parliament member’s Alfreds Rubiks- led Latvia’s Socialist Party.
In preparing for the elections, Valerijs Agesins, deputy head of Harmony Center’s Saeima group, explained that at first, all Harmony Center members in the Saeima will report to voters about what they have accomplished - verbally and in writing. “The reporting will happen individually, not together, in each MP’s district. They will have to inform on what bills have been drafted, which of them have been passed or turned down, with what institutions they had correspondence on matters of interest to the voters, what has been done in general.”

As for the possible coalition and party collaboration partners after the elections, Agesins noted that Harmony Center does not plan to draw “huge and dreadful” red lines and would be open to talks with all parties likely to clear the 5 percent threshold. The only exception might be VL-TB/LNNK, because both parties have vastly different ideological bases. “However, up to now we were able to agree on some certain issues, for example, in social affairs,” said Agesins.
The party’s final decision on its candidate for prime minister will depend on the results of the 11th Saeima elections, emphasized Usakovs.

In the July 23 referendum, 94.3 percent of the vote was to disband the 10th Saeima. Emergency elections will be held on Sept. 17, whereas candidate lists for the elections are being accepted from July 29 to Aug. 18.