All eyes on Finance Ministry

  • 2000-11-02
  • TBT staff
RIGA - A move seen by many in Latvia as pure political folly has made Finance Minister Gundars Berzins a minor celebrity for a day around the world.

Earlier this month Berzins agreed to have a tiny video camera installed in his office to allow Internet users to watch meetings, budget deliberations and even the finance minister occasionally lighting up.

The camera monitors Berzins' desk throughout the day and leaves a note of his schedule when he leaves. It doesn't, however, provide any sound, "in case there are sensitive matters under discussion."

People's party campaign officials admitted the move was a bit of a gimmick ahead of next spring's municipal elections.

"We want to raise the prestige of government, which now is not very high," said party campaign manager Jurgis Liepnieks.

But he also saw the "webcam" as a step toward transparency in the Latvian government, which this year ranked in the lower fourth in a worldwide corruption poll conducted by the international corruption watchdog Transparency International.

The webcam caught the eye of the international press in Riga and a week after it was installed, Berzins found himself being interviewed on BBC World Service radio.

The webcam was a featured story on the network's English-language program "Outlook" on Oct. 31. Berzins explained in Latvian that the webcam was a great idea to get Latvian citizens interested in government.

But the announcer was more interested to know if he minded being watched all day and if he changed his demeanor - held back any shouting, for example - because of the broadcast.

Berzins replied that he acted as if he were all alone and even smoked in front of the camera, a point raised by Edmunds Krastins, the former finance minister and an adviser to Berzins who was also interviewed on the program.

Both men said the webcam could be another step toward "e-government" in Latvia.

They also both agreed that it could make modest advances in improving government transparency in Latvia.

The BBC program went on to talk to other finance ministers, including one from Nepal, who agreed they might try the webcam if it improves the government's standing in the eyes of voters.

Berzins can be seen weekdays during working hours at www.tautaspartija.lv.