Latvian Political Monitor

@GirtsKarnitis @realNepareizais I think that only one annoying thing is wasteful (by definition greater in any public administration compared to the private sector), but the other is that I predict and hope that the European Prosecutor's Office will get involved not only in IT procurements.

⛽️ FUEL PRICES The rise in fuel prices is a huge problem for Latvia and all of Europe. It directly hits people's wallets and makes almost everything more expensive: 🚗 private transport, 🚆 trains, 🚌 buses, ✈️ aviation, 🚛 logistics, 🚒 firefighting, 🚓 police, 🚑 emergency medical services The rise in fuel prices also means higher prices in stores and additional pressure on inflation. It reduces the purchasing power of money and in winter will directly affect both consumption and the cost of living. It's important to understand – there is no direct correlation between the price of oil on the exchange and the fuel price at the filling station, especially for diesel. Fuel traders do not buy finished fuel on the oil exchange. The prices of finished oil products are largely formed by PLATTS international fuel price indices. 🛢️ Diesel is a particular problem. Diesel price and availability can become a long-term problem because global refining capacity is disrupted. 🇷🇺 In Russia, a significant part of fuel refining capacity is out of order. Russia has restricted fuel exports because it needs to supply its own market, and some products are also purchased from 🇨🇳 China. This increases tension in the global fuel market and demand for diesel. 🇱🇻 This is particularly important for Latvia, as about 67% of our car fleet is diesel cars. ❄️ An additional problem comes in winter – winter diesel production also uses aviation fuel or kerosene fractions, so in the cold season competition for these raw materials increases even more. 🏛️ The government will decide this week on measures to reduce fuel prices to the allowable minimum, using all tools available to the government. Planned solutions: ➖️ reduced excise duty – approximately -8 cents/litre ➖️ abolition of fuel reserve requirement costs – approximately -8 cents/litre ➖️ abolition of bio-additive requirement – approximately -4 cents/litre 💶 Total possible reduction – up to 20 cents per litre. On Wednesday, we will submit the decisions adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the Saeima Budget and Finance Committee for further progress in the Saeima. The goal – for the fuel price reduction to take effect from 1 October to 31 December. 🌍 The biggest external risk right now is the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy arteries, through which significant supplies of: 🛢️ oil ⛽️ petrol and diesel products ✈️ aviation fuel 🔥 LNG gas 🌾 and mineral fertiliser raw materials are provided. Hostilities, uncertainty, damage to oil infrastructure and disruptions to refineries in the Middle East directly affect fuel prices worldwide. 🇵🇱 Today I have a planned conversation with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. One of the issues will also be the ORLEN refinery in Mažeikiai and fuel availability in our region. ⚠️ If the situation in the Middle East does not improve, the European Union could reach a situation where the issue is no longer just about the fuel price. A common fuel availability problem could also arise. We will follow the situation and act. I will report on further developments. #hormuz #degviela

@GirtsKarnitis @realNepareizais We really spend relatively little against GDP, and GDP is also relatively small. But budget revenues are also smaller, even on average relative to GDP. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Today we calculated how many tens of millions of budget money will now be glued to fuel 'discounts'. Political parties have flung themselves into an auction competition. Hit, counter-hit, out and yesss, goooal - knocked out (the loser flies into the goal). What an exciting fight! The most expensive option currently is 47 million per year for the budget. Plus there are 400 million already previously glued funds for which the money has not been found, and even borrowing to the brim - it won't happen anyway. So after the elections it will evaporate like last year's stubble. But for now the most expensive MP mandates in Latvian history are being made. Good that it's Monopoly money. But every cloud has a silver lining. In fact, this is a Guinness record. Half a billion of non-existent money is 5 million per one MP mandate. Congratulations, comrades🤝

The National Alliance considers that Valts Dalbiņš has publicly expressed views that are incompatible with the values of the National Alliance. The party board has decided to expel him from the National Alliance.

Internal security starts with how quickly and coordinated the services can help a person in distress. That is why the work started during Rihards Kozlovskis' time on creating new disaster management centers continues. The government will decide on funding for three new centers in Krāslava, Rēzekne and Balvi, where several internal affairs and rescue services will work in one place. This will mean simpler cooperation between rescuers, police, border guard, medics and other services, faster exchange of information and more effective action both in everyday incidents and in larger crises. 💬 Rihards Kozlovskis: “If services work more closely together and in modern conditions, the beneficiary is the person who receives help more quickly and effectively.” In total, 32 disaster management centers have already been completed or are at various stages of implementation in Latvia. Of these, 20 are already operational. 🇱🇻 A strong Latgale also means a stronger and safer Latvia.

Indriksone reproaches the fooling of people and asks Stepaņenko: What will you do to support Ukraine on its path to victory over Russia?

Live: “Politicians! What was that all about?!” - interview with National Alliance's prime ministerial candidate Ilze Indriksone https://t.co/Peb5uhAU45

VIDEO. Interview before the 15th Saeima elections. Candidate for Prime Minister from the party alliance “Suverēnā vara/Apvienība Jaunlatvieši” Jūlija Stepaņenko: https://t.co/HvP9wTRkel

📣 We continue our conversation series, but this time about politics not only from the Saeima tribune, but also behind the scenes. 🎙️ This time I talked with @RaivisDzintars, who was the head of @VL_TBLNNK from 2010 to 2024, is a 14th Saeima deputy and chairman of the National Alliance's Saeima faction. 💬 In this part of the conversation we talked about how politics is actually made and how easy or difficult it is for a politician to make decisions. Is there enough freedom in politics? Is it possible to achieve the goals you initially set when entering politics? How to build cooperation with representatives of other political forces? We also talked about a politician's daily life, including whether Saeima sessions are always time well spent, how a person's life changes after leaving politics, and what happens to a politician when their work in parliament ends. #Nacionālāapvienība #RaivisDzintars

Nils Sakss Konstantinovs: "For a child to learn, they must feel discomfort"

Stepaņenko accuses journalists of stupidity and inability to read declarations, which again and again contain errors. Section 24, Part 4 of the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest states: the truthfulness of the information is confirmed by the submitter. Before assessing journalists' literacy, it would be worth checking what she herself has written. https://t.co/di2i5upWLl

Logically written, but my emphasis is elsewhere. People's way of thinking is not rational; practically no one reasons that way. They reason like this - I pay taxes, where's my free euro-renovation service for nothing! For example, the very availability of health services. The question is, first of all, about how much and what of our paid taxes we can realistically afford? Declaratively this service is 'free'. But practically it is available only to those who can stand (and for a long time) in queues. And overall in the health system, the state allocates 2 euros, we pay 1 euro from our own pocket (out of pocket expenses). That too is the service in the quality and volume we can afford. But shouting doesn't help - it's promised to be free. And here's another thing. We are a relatively poor EU country. But medical equipment costs the same everywhere. Yes, salaries are lower, but that doesn't compensate for the rest. And we will be able to afford even less if now again before the elections they drop the excise duty on fuel (realistically). But that doesn't stop people from shouting - where's my Lenin log!