Latvian Political Monitor

@JanisMarsans @SlesersAinars Here's a greeting from NA leader Raivis Dzintars, photo on the right! https://t.co/9UDg7vDTfy

Why does ZZS call for the cancellation of the hospital network reform?

On July 27, @AndrisKulbergs committed to initiating the removal of the restricted-access status of the prosecutor's protest in the timber industry support case, as well as the government's response to it. August 5: @prokuratura_LV has not received such a proposal. We continue to wait for @Brivibas36 to act.

WHY ARE CHILDREN NOT BORN (part two) In my opinion, the cause of Latvia's demographic crisis is a deliberately degraded concept of the family, abandonment of moral education in the curriculum, reduction of relationships to the level of satisfying the lowest instincts, and normalization of homosexuality. Namely, the dismantling of the value system. I must add that social conditions such as living space, income and benefits are also very important. Nevertheless, I believe that increasing benefits is not the only solution for improving the birth rate; it plays a secondary role, because benefits will only appeal to those who already want but cannot afford a second or third child, but that is not the audience of followers of deliberate childlessness. There are more and more of them, so the role of such couples is also decisive. We are approaching the moment when already every FOURTH woman will reach the end of her fertile age without ever conceiving a child. At the same time, the number of families choosing in favor of a third and fourth child is growing. However, that is not enough to restore a birth rate that exceeds mortality. One of the relatively measurable indicators of general morality in family-formation policy is marriage statistics. Marriage is a very deliberate decision that stems from a correct understanding of the meaning of relationships, their significance and openness to creating life. In Latvia, half of women of fertile age are married, and about 65% of children are born in these relationships, while outside marriage about 35% - almost twice as little. Marriage, or relationships oriented toward family formation, are being deliberately undermined, because the 'health studies' provided for in the curriculum is limited only to sexuality, i.e., safe intercourse. I agree, health is important. However, separating sexual pleasure from the framework of strong relationships creates sexual promiscuity, negative relationship experiences, later regret and a burdened family life. I decided to compare the marriage statistics of interwar Latvia with today. The population is similar - in 1939 approximately 1.9 million people lived in Latvia. One can discuss differences in social conditions, but let us remember that the state was built from scratch and the land was devastated by the First World War, so living conditions certainly spoke against the need dictated by today's logic to postpone family formation. 1. The number of marriages concluded in the interwar period was 15-21 thousand each year; since 1991, on average 11.9 thousand per year, or a third less. 2. In 1939 (there are no data for other years), 9 marriages per 1000 inhabitants; since 1991, an average of 5.5, or almost twice as few. 3. In 1939 (there are only data for this and 1935), there was only ONE divorce per 1000 inhabitants; today on average THREE, or three times more. 4. In the interwar period, on average 90 divorces per 1000 marriages (9%); today 556, or 56%! 5. In interwar Latvia, the population increased by 10-15 thousand every year; currently it shrinks by 10-20 thousand. Conclusions? There is no single panacea for the birth-rate crisis. It is a multifaceted question. Mostly it depends on each individual's spiritual and intellectual maturity. Nevertheless, there is a clearly visible link between a worldview in which the family is an unambiguous value, the stability of relationships and the number of children. And against this stands a worldview in which relationships are merely a casual form of recreation. Therefore first education, values, virtue, and only then the 'wallet' arguments. In the picture Jānis Čakste with his wife and nine offspring.

https://t.co/V3zLHYKHH5

So Rinkēvičs is also a pro-Kremlin force who is against Dombrava? https://t.co/7VleiM2qom

@ieva_w It's truly astonishing that they have no shame in publishing something like that. We asked the authorities for confirmation and did not receive it. Fantastic media work. Real democracy watchdogs...

@Mikipele6 The Interior Minister is a representative of the government. It is important for the government to define a unified and consistent position and policy. In practice, this is carried out in the coordination process with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As I understand, in this case, that was not done.

Russia's latest massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine shows how sick the society east of our border is. 17 people were killed using 24 ballistic missiles, 4 Zircon and Oniks hypersonic missiles, as well as 115 drones. Approximate calculations indicate several million dollars per killed person. Russians would rather spend millions on every killed Ukrainian civilian than invest this money in fixing their run-down country's infrastructure, solving the HIV epidemic, or other important things. But they don't care about themselves. There are societies that like to live in their own filth and inflict it on the rest of the world. Such was, is, and will remain Russia, with which all trade and cooperation still has not been stopped, despite the latest change of government.

If you're so smart in politics, why aren't you prime minister yet?!