Latvian Political Monitor

@Afanasijs If you ask AI about golden visas, it turns out that in those distant implementation times, it was precisely Vents Krauklis, as a Saeima deputy, who was one of the most active promoters of their introduction…

We continue to improve the procurement system in Latvia - a draft regulation has been prepared on my initiative, providing that a single contracting authority or public service provider will be able to purchase software development services in the e-catalogue during a year for an amount not exceeding 140,000 euros.

@EMEL_LV @SirupsP I say the opposite, if anything.

@KristapsNot I took out working days at the beginning of weekends, but actually every other one is with work activities, meetings, significant trips with country leaders, so the number doesn't match, but it would have been better to include them.

The state's ever-increasing influence on the economy and the labor market is the main thing that drives people into the gloomy loop of socialism. You depend on your salary, and in state jobs, for most (almost all) there is no opportunity to accumulate capital and break out of the loop. In fact, yes, you are dependent on an administrative economy. Your salary is raised according to a schedule. And that determines how you think, vote, and how motivated you are. Pavlov's reflex. Here is an excellent interview where this phenomenon is perfectly laid out. https://t.co/aERFOhHAhl

Very simple. The knowledgeable people around me explained it to me quickly, although I already knew it before. Psychology. My content hasn't changed, maybe I just curse a bit less. They've noticed that too. Not the wise ones at Twitter level, but those who know me. And it can't be otherwise, people my age don't change. But as soon as you are even slightly on the side of power, you start being criticized. The higher you go, the more criticism. They started scolding me from the very first days - it works automatically. Pavlov's reflex. I'll cheer you up. Those few months will pass soon and it's quite likely that I'll go back to the private sector. You'll be able to hate less.

Day No. 80 in the prime minister's chair — 🇷🇺 grain transit and airBaltic Chapter 11 approval. Today two important things. 🌾 1. 🇷🇺 grain transit solution - The government - AS + NA + JV + ZZS - unanimously decided on a solution to restrict 🇷🇺 grain transit, providing for a +300% fee for the use of railway infrastructure. - This is also a response to 🇷🇺's unilateral doubling of the Russian railway tariff since June 1. - 🇱🇻 grain gets 100% priority for our farmers. - Latvian port capacity is freely available for 🇱🇻 grain, and it is already being actively exported through our ports. - The bill is being urgently submitted to the Saeima this Thursday. After its adoption and entry into force, LatRailNet, which sets railway infrastructure charges, will make the necessary changes to tariffs. That will take up to about 2 weeks. - The Ministry of Agriculture and @uldisaugulis have done the work, concluding a contract with 🇬🇧 DEFA for grain testing and laboratory use in cooperation with 🇺🇦. - The 🇺🇦 side has confirmed that Ukrainian specialists will arrive in Latvia as early as next week to help identify possibly stolen 🇺🇦 grain. - We have reached a common position with the 🇪🇪 and 🇱🇹 prime ministers on introducing uniform restrictions on 🇷🇺 grain. We are advancing the grain issue at the fastest possible pace. ✈️ 2. airBaltic Chapter 11 procedure - airBaltic's Chapter 11 procedure in a 🇺🇸 court has been accepted and has already received the judge's approval. This means airBaltic will be able to: 💶 access financing immediately; 🔧 start the restructuring process; 📑 review obligations to creditors. Work continues.

That is the classic understanding of justice. People always put their personal wallet first. The highest level of justice is when you get more and the best - all the world's money. Envy is especially motivating - redistribution advocates cite as an anchor argument 'because he has more'!

Currently it has been reduced by 4 cents. The state budget already has a hole, which reduces the possibilities to finance even the health sector. Next year and the next 3 years, the budget hole is in several billion euros, someone will have to cut it off. The minus only gets bigger. Riches, believe? Those 4 cents do not solve anything individually, the rise in fuel prices is determined mainly by global processes. Can be torn down further, can even divide the country into Lenin's logs. What will we gain, where are we going? Quo vadis? Me, me and mine!

Inheritance tax seems fair (you didn't earn it), but economically it works destructively. This is an ever-present and well-known dilemma. If you know they will take it away (the Progressives have called for taking away even half of your savings), then in practice it promotes a culture of spending—blowing it all, because you only live once. Live it up. And as a result, a country with such a 'fair' policy accumulates less national capital, and that is one of the most significant factors fostering economic backwardness. If you're threatened with confiscation, capital goes off and grows elsewhere. Then they wonder—why do shops, factories, and technologies mostly belong to foreigners? Profit and capital go elsewhere, we're just wiped off. That's the dilemma. A choice between what's fair and what's prudent.

Gladly. But on the other side there are expenses for priority areas. Excise tax + VAT finances practically everything, except pensions and the majority of the social package. No one agrees to reduce the money for themselves. Now on top of that, a whole bunch has been promised for the elections. The procedure is such that you first free up the spending side, then you can reduce any tax. And not the other way around.

Freshest interview for Polish television - Baltic security, Russia threat, Latvia's readiness and elections (below is link to the full interview on YouTube) https://t.co/fhlWTITYZa

@liana_langa I agree, this needs to be addressed... but first I would suggest turning to the minister responsible for this field => Kozlovskis SatMin. If that doesn't work, then come to me, otherwise I'd have to make Kulbergs clones judging by the daily number of requests for problem-solving.

Ha, ZZS has gone into pre-election hysteria and now offers anything at all. Even things that are illegal. Goal – to promise Lenin's logs to the people. Who doesn't want money for themselves? Everyone does. They offer to drop VAT on fuel. I'm not even talking about the fact that then any budget will fall apart, even while continuing to borrow maximally. Ratings threaten to throw the party out of the Saeima, and then – who cares about the budget? I'm talking about the fact that reducing VAT on fuel is not allowed in the European Union. When the Poles and Spaniards tried, they immediately launched a fiscal violation procedure. They now sadly promise to fix things. But. As some Repše said – well, how can one not promise? 🫠

This dilemma is known, it would take a long story like 1001 nights, but Milbank and Cobalt have combed through this in detail. My ears have wilted and I have little interest in legal intricacies. You are superficially/technically right, there is no automatic enforcement in Latvia, but in real situations (SAS restructuring as an example), local TAP or insolvency may be triggered, and in SAS's case it was with a 2-year delay.

@patmalnieksj everything is written by me word for word - the only thing is grammatical and stylistic errors were corrected and instead of country abbreviations, country flags were placed.

Following my proposal, it has been decided that starting from 2027, information on procurements carried out by the state and other public institutions must be published regardless of the transaction or contract amount. Transparency helps promote responsible management and reduce the risk of wasteful spending.