I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš for the courage and perseverance while seeking and finding common denominators with a wide range of political parties to create a new government more than two months after the first meeting of the 13th convocation of the Saeima. It has been a long process, and time is lost during that prolonged process of government formation leading to many very important decisions being delayed, which in their turn can have negative consequences for the country as a whole.
Mr Prime Minister, Dear Ministers,
Strengthening public confidence in politicians and political processes in the country requires the government to act quickly and decisively. At the same time, the promises made to the electorate should not be forgotten - in my view, it is very important that voters do not become disappointed with the political parties.
In the process of government formation, I have repeatedly emphasised and wish to emphasise once again that we need a balanced state budget. Time has come to start thinking about savings that might turn very useful in difficult times. When evaluating the trends of global economic outlook, we must be ready for different new challenges.
At present, Latvia is continuing its steady economic development. However, we must be aware that to a large extent we can thank the European funds and the favourable external environment, but this environment is and will be changing. Therefore, it is crucial for us to create favourable conditions for national growth, to strengthen national competitiveness, to build a stable and predictable tax policy, to continue reforms, to reduce social inequality, to strengthen the rule of law and to perform many other tasks ourselves.
During the government-building process, it has been discussed repeatedly that continued strengthening of the security of the financial system is crucial by implementing the recommendations of the Moneyval report, by making the supervision of the banking sector stricter and more efficient and by strengthening cooperation and coordination among the controlling bodies. The government must comply immediately because delay might be dangerous for the economic development of the country.
It is in Latvia’s national interest to strengthen a united European Union and work closely with countries that defend our common values, the values of Western democracy. We must continue building the resilience of our country to various modern threats in the areas of information space protection and cyber security and, equally importantly, regarding climate change.
Dear Members of the New Cabinet,
The people of Latvia expect you to take responsibility for our country not only in words but also in deeds from day one. Each of you individually and, most importantly, all of you together are responsible for the policy implemented by the government from today on.
I wish you success in all your endeavours, and may we have the strength, endurance, and courage to stand up for our country and the people of our country!
