Address by President Edgars Rinkēvičs on New Year’s Eve

Good evening, dear friends!

Yet another year has come to an end. To each his own. For some, the year has flown by. For others, the days have dragged on. For some, the year has been filled with beautiful memories. For others, it has felt like time wasted. Some saw it as a year of opportunities. Others were overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness, fear and uncertainty about the future.

It is likely that everyone has felt this way at some point. Myself included. These are difficult times. Sometimes we may want to simply get them over with. Or hibernate in the hope thing will be better in the spring.

But we do not have that option. We have the opportunity to make this time – our common era – better. We need not sit idly by or give up. We can take our lives into our own hands and live them as real as we are able.

There can be various reasons why sometimes goals are not reached. Yet the greatest cause is not trying at all – if you don't try, you'll never succeed. You must try. It is better to try and fail than not to try at all.

In Latvian tales you can find beauty and values that teach kindness and humbleness. That encourages us to look beyond appearances and recognise a person’s true character. These are important values. All we must do is to make our own decisions and act.

• It is time to move away from the “it is what it is” mindset. No. Instead, we will decide and we will act upon.
• We need to get away from an “there is nothing I can do” mentality and remind ourselves “I can”.
• Let’s avoid the easy option “what difference can I make” attitude. Instead, we should focus on “I can, and I will”. 
• Let the gloomy “What if I fail” sense of doubt be a thing of the past. What if it does work?
• We must not put up with injustice. Let’s not accept it just “for the sake of peace”. True peace can only exist based on justice.
• It is time to take risks. Because sometimes we have to. Above all – we must take decisions and act upon it. 

We do not have to helplessly go with the flow. We must shape the flow ourselves. As we can see, there are people in Latvia who can create THE Flow that is currently followed by the world. This is no surprise. It is a result of hard work. And I am happy about that.

Dear friends!

Next year, let’s write new stories and create new dreams. About us. About Latvia. About the wonders of our time:

About people who are aspiring.
About people with courage.
About people who never give up.
About people full of love. 

Let us write our Latvia’s story, highlighting our own accomplishments, not the mistakes of others. Let us be the decision makers. Let us be the protagonists of our own story. A story in which the right time is always our time. The time of Latvia and our people. Then it will no longer be a fairy tale, but a reality.

May we all have a joyful and rewarding New Year. Wishing you a happy 2025!