Latvian Political Monitor

MMN will try to ensure that 70% of primary school graduates continue their studies in vocational education institutions, and the party also plans to abolish centralized exams, says party representative Jāzeps Baško.

Schools must provide teaching materials, raise teacher qualifications, and abolish homework for children, suggests Agris Freifalts, who represents the party 'Gobzema saraksts'.

Citskovskis (JKP) believes that instead of imposing a wealth tax on deputies, the bonuses, compensations, and representation expenses should be reviewed.

Juris Pūce (LA) calls for increasing contributions to the 2nd pension level, and also points out to Zeltīts that the ASL party doesn't know percentages, because doubling the economy in eight years means annual economic growth of 13%

Saskaņas centrs plans to introduce a wealth tax for ministers and deputies whose annual income exceeds 50,000 euros, reveals Valērijs Agešins, but cannot say what the tax would be for those who receive 51 thousand.

The goal is to grow the economy through consumption taxes and by exiting the shadow economy, emphasizes Raivis Zeltīts (ASL). The party's proposal is to radically reduce the labor tax, which drives away investors and drives people into the shadow economy.

Svetlana Čulkova (St!) believes that benefits cannot promote birth rates, but restoring economic cooperation with Russia and Belarus, which would reduce prices, for example for fuel, would improve the situation.

JKP will start a war on illegal migration, and will also prevent fraud among fake students and in the labor market, says Jānis Citskovskis, noting that only highly qualified migration should be supported.

Speaking about the integration topic, representative of 'Mēs mainām noteikumus' Jāzeps Baško says that in Latvian schools studies can only take place in Latvian.

The 'Harmony Center' is concerned about the new normal that name-calling, for example using the word 'vatnik', is not punishable on the internet, says party representative Valērijs Agešins.

Agris Freifalts from the "Gobzems' list" believes that there should be a more active shift to internal security and civil defense. Pūce objects to the party program, but Freifalts again calls for focusing on internal security: "The location of medical points, recruitment points, and shelters is unknown."

Had a very productive call with U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale @johnpcoale 🇱🇻🇺🇸

When we have been neutral, we have lost our independence. Recent years show that the NATO model will be transformed and the US role in European security will decrease, says Juris Pūce (LA). He believes that Latvia should not wait for what France and Germany will come up with, but should be active itself.

Raivis Zeltīts from “Austošā saule Latvijai” believes that the party has raised the bar in the fight against pro-Kremlin forces, emphasizing that the “Stabilitātei!” program was created in the Kremlin. Čulkova responds that Latvia can be loved in any language.

On October 4, Aleksejs Rosļikovs will be back in Latvia, says Svetlana Čulkova from “Stabilitātei!”, claiming that the party will gather 5% support.

Day No.61 in the prime minister's chair 🇱🇻 BNI entrepreneurs, AirBaltic, government salaries and 5 hours on national security Wednesday started with a meeting with the President, but ended with a 5-hour-long National Security Council meeting, about the content of which I am not allowed to say much. 80 BNI entrepreneurs The day began with an early morning meeting with 80 entrepreneurs from 2 BNI clubs, where I had to answer very challenging and difficult questions in front of a full hall. I will always stand up for entrepreneurs, because they are the ones who pay all the bills in the country. Without strong entrepreneurs, there will be no strong and prosperous state. 🏛️ Meeting with the President We discussed several state-important issues. 🔐 CSDD incident and data leak ➖️ Board and council members cannot just receive often astronomical salaries. Along with the position and remuneration comes RESPONSIBILITY. ➖️ The President and I agree – at this scale of consequences, responsibility cannot end only with resignation. If harm has been done to the state and a threat has been created to people, legal responsibility must also be assessed. The Prosecutor General's Office is already working on it. I hope for a quick and fair process, because here we are also talking about the security of ALL state officials. ➖️ At the same time, other risks must be reduced. On the VID website, the database of officials' declarations is still publicly available, which can be used for profiling by connecting it with other databases and AI tools. This does not mean hiding the declarations! They are and must remain PUBLIC. But access can have at least minimal protection and traceability – for example, authentication with eParaksts, Smart-ID or https://t.co/kCHMBLvCE6. We preserve the public's right to know, but we should not leave the door wide open for mass data collection. ✈️ AirBaltic strategic plan ➖️ I emphasized that one of the most important tasks is to find a STRATEGIC INVESTOR specifically in the aviation sector. The Ministry of Finance must be tasked with actively seeking and attracting a strong industry player. ➖️ We agreed that AirBaltic remains a significant part of Latvia's economy. The Saeima and the government must do everything possible to prevent the airline from becoming insolvent. Kozlovskis and the Ministry of Transport's plan must be given a chance to work as a last resort to ensure that this time the company is saved by private capital, not again just by state money. 💶 Public sector salary increases and indexation for 2027 – WE CANCEL In a situation where tax revenues are not being met and the state is living on borrowing, further increasing spending on public sector salaries would be wrong. Especially at a time when salary levels in the public sector have already reached or even surpassed the private sector in many places. First, let's sort out state finances. Then we talk about new spending. Call with Moldovan Prime Minister Vasili Tofanu We discussed the two countries' positions on European enlargement. ➖️ My position is clear – the doors to Europe are open for Ukraine 🇺🇦 and Moldova 🇲🇩. Now the countries themselves must do their homework, continue reforms and adapt to European standards in order to be ready for EU membership. ➖️ Interestingly, we both come from the business environment. This very quickly allows finding common language – fewer diplomatic phrases, more about practical solutions and results. ➖️ We also discussed the future of Transnistria. A very interesting reality – about 73% of trade transactions already take place with the EU bloc, and about 235,000 people are closely connected to Moldova's economic space. Integration is already happening practically and peacefully in many places. ➖️ Moldova is also seriously concerned about Russia-created and funded electoral populism, disinformation, and attempts to influence public opinion. 🌾 For the first time summoned to the @ZZS_ faction. Like at school – to the principal 😄 I was questioned about AirBaltic for 1.5 hours. With full responsibility, I explained the figures, risks, possible scenarios, and what will happen with one or another Saeima decision. But, as I suspected, in the end it turned out that ZZS had already decided to vote AGAINST beforehand. So the question arises – why was an hour and a half of "hearing" needed? 🤷‍♂️ I feel sorry for my time. 🛡️ The day ended with a 5-hour-long National Security Council meeting. I will not publicly say much about the content, of course. But on security issues, Latvia currently has neither holidays nor the option to postpone anything to a later time. That was Day No.61.