STILL WORK TO DO

Though not as resounding as he had predicted, Einars Repse's election victory seems to have recharged voters' optimism. Indeed, most who backed his fledgling New Era party of professional non-politicians did so to register their disgust with the current ruling elite, who they see as corrupt and complacent.

Latvians, as one astute observer remarked, tend to vote against people, not for them. After leading the country to the threshold of NATO and the European Union, Latvia's Way learned that the hard way as voters gleefully booted them from parliament.

So far, Repse has continued to encourage rather than discourage voters. Of course, it's early yet, and there's much that worries us about the stability of a Repse-led government. But his insistence on keeping all coalition-building talks open to the public is impressive and suggests he means what he says about government transparency.

Others have been heartened by his decision to meet with the Latvia's First Party, more newcomers who benefited from the wave of discontentment, before meeting more mainstream parties.

And his promise not to change the country's direction —- toward liberalism, open markets, the EU and NATO —- is also welcome, though we do wonder whether he can make good on this promise if he turns his back entirely on the politicians who have guided the country thus far.

Herein lies the rub. Repse's insistence on a "non-traditional" Cabinet in which he choooses ministers without a formal coalition agreement among parties seems naive at best, dangerous at worst.

Political parties exist for the purpose of consolidating political power. We doubt they can be counted on to rubber stamp everything Repse wants to do without being promised share of power in return.

Novice politicians as ministers are fine and may be just right for cleaning up corrupt and mismanaged ministries such as Justice and Interior Affairs. But those with experience are better suited for Foreign Affairs and Defense.

Repse's insistence on shutting out the People's Party seems another threat to government stability. Besides being an ideological match, the party won 21 seats and nearly 17 percent of the vote —- not too far off Repse's numbers of 26 and 24 percent, so their claim on a governing mandate is strong.

As a government veteran, the People's Party is certainly partly to blame for the low esteem in which voters hold their leaders. But while the newcomers profess their aversion to Andris Skele, who they call one of Latvia's oligarchs, they seem happy to join forces with the Greens and Farmers, a union that ran a cynical, anti-EU campaign that contradicts Repse's pro-EU message and is widely rumored to be funded by a man regarded by many as Latvia's other arch-oligarch —- Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs.

Latvia has been down this road before. When the Skele-led People's Party won the 1998 poll, it was vindictively kept out of power by a minority government that lasted just eight months.

Latvians have made it clear they want this government to stick around longer.