Work in private sector is interesting - Karins

RIGA - Former Prime Minister and long-time politician Krisjanis Karins does not miss working in politics and finds work in the private sector quite interesting.

In an interview with portal delfi.lv, the former prime minister said that the beginning of his work in the private sector was interesting and promising. "I am satisfied and happy that someone needs my knowledge and experience," Karins said about working in the private sector.

"Not at all," Karins said when asked if he missed working in politics.

In regards to politics, he said he did not support the direction of Unity's current leadership. At the same time, he is still a member of the party. However, when asked whether he would be ready to return to politics, he replied that he "would be ready to help people".

Kariņš also criticized the decisions taken on the second pillar of pensions. He pointed out that the plan to transfer one percentage point from the second-tier pension to the first-tier pension schemes by the end of 2028 is wrong. He believes that other ways could have been found to increase the budget.

As reported, Karins decided to resign from the board of the Unity party because he no longer supports the party's policies.

Karins announced his decision on Twitter, saying that "it is a grave mistake to cut future pension contributions and seriously raise the tax on capital savers".

Karins was one of the founders of the predecessor of Unity, the party New Era. While representing these parties, Karins has held several ministerial positions and has been elected to several terms of the Saeima and the European Parliament (EP).

Karins became the Prime Minister of Latvia at the beginning of 2019, a position he held for almost five years. In autumn 2023, following his resignation as the Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister Evika Silina, a member of Karins' party, took over the leadership of the government, and Karins became the Foreign Minister in her government.

Earlier this year, Karins resigned as the Foreign Minister amid the flight scandal. He then briefly worked as a an MP before resigning from politics in August and joining the strategic communications consultancy Kreab in September. Karins is a senior adviser at Kreab, advising clients on geopolitics, European Union policy and other policy issues.

Unity is the largest party in the New Unity, and the New Unity is the most widely represented political force in the current Saeima. In the latest party ranking by the research center SKDS, commissioned by Latvian Television, the New Unity ranked third behind the opposition parties National Alliance and Latvia First. A month earlier, the New Unity was still leading the party rankings.