I
First, I congratulate the Prime Minister and all members of the Cabinet of Ministers on the vote of confidence in the Saeima.
You have endured these two and a half months of intense work, as well as the first strength test - the debate with the opposition in the Saeima and the vote of confidence. I hope that this vote of 54 votes also marks the fact that the coalition's proposals will always have these votes, and that is very important.
Two and a half months of negotiations and intensive work have resulted in a sufficiently coherent coalition and a government declaration that sets out the work programme of this coalition for the next four years.
II
This government will have to make serious changes and implement reforms in crisis mode.
Europe and the whole world are currently experiencing at least three interlinked crises at the same time – a security crisis, an energy crisis and a general economic crisis or at least a slowdown. The consequences of the Covid-19 crisis are also still being felt.
You are taking up your duties in such a complex global situation and you must also be able to implement serious reforms, which is a difficult and challenging task. I am confident that you will rise to the challenge.
These reforms would, of course, be much easier to implement in calmer times, but we cannot choose the times in which we live and work.
You will have to navigate stormy waters and I think you will not lose your way, you will tactically tackle the problems of the day, and at the same time focus on strategic destinations.
That means focusing on the goal you want to achieve in four years' time. The reference point where you need to be is 2026, the next Saeima elections with a certain result. However, when focusing on 2026, we must not lose sight of the even more distant goal of sustainable development for Latvia over the next 10 years and beyond. This is a challenging but achievable task.
III
Reading the government's declaration, you can roughly see the goals that the government wants to achieve. The outlines also give a sense of the goals that go beyond the four-year timeframe.
One could say that the programme set out in the government's declaration is solid enough to maintain the current position and to go a step further. Overall, I would say that the declaration is not very ambitious, but there is some potential for breakthrough in some areas. And that is essential.
First, there is the promise to double the total public and private funding of science and research to 1.5% of GDP. There is no mention of when this target will be reached, but I very much hope that it will be 2026, the year of next Saeima elections.
To give you an idea of the scale of this promise in the context of the European Union (EU), let me remind you that the EU's target will then be 3%. Of course, 1.5% is above the current 0.7%. I would like to reiterate what I told the Saeima, that only education, especially higher education, science, research and innovation can be the basis for Latvia's development. It is very good that you have included this realistic objective in the government's declaration.
Second, the government is committed to significantly increasing renewable energy capacity by attracting investment and cutting red tape. Together with an ambitious energy efficiency programme, this would benefit both the economy and society. This will be further specified in the Government's Action Plan.
Thirdly, the government has realised the need to upgrade the skills of employees and to offer a meaningful retraining system. Finally, responsibility for this policy will be concentrated in one hand - the Ministry of Economics. Just like education, the skills of workers are the basis for the further development of Latvia. Of course, in this respect, we still need to work on the action plan.
Fourth, the government has finally committed itself to introducing a targeted system of social support based on specific household income. The need for this was pointed out long ago by the European Commission, because the current situation does not reduce inequality in society. This will be a contribution to the social development of Latvia.
IV
This government shows a serious desire to overcome the inefficiency of governance, which is rooted in a low understanding of the modern state and good governance. It is very good that this issue has been addressed in the coalition negotiations.
The coalition talks have also focused on new, yet to be consolidated and elevated policy areas. There has also been talks of cross-sectoral policies - instead of the current fragmented policies - to establish an effective governance system.
I believe that this is very good. The new coalition has finally recognised the problem. It is not fully resolved, but the fact that it is being discussed is an intellectually significant step forward.
V
I also welcome the fact that there is a commitment to make the work of the Cabinet of Ministers more efficient, particularly in organising the work of the Cabinet committees. Such committees already existed in the past and have proved their worth. This will make the entire work of the government more efficient, but in particular it will allow better coordination of cross-sectoral policy issues and cross-sectoral cooperation.
Second, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Action has finally been created. The creation of this ministry means that we will have the much-needed energy and climate policy at government level today, which also goes hand in hand with green technological innovations.
It shows that the government is aware of the priorities of the time and that the model of government, in terms of good governance, must be in line with these priorities.
VI
The 14th Saeima, not yet formed as a coalition, has adopted two important amendments to the law, putting in the hands of the government a new, effective tool to improve public governance and to cover today's policy gaps – the possibility to appoint minister deputies in ministries. This institution, which is very characteristic of parliamentary democracy, already existed in the first Latvian government, which was established on 18 November 1918. The Minister of the Interior even had two deputies at that time.
Such a deputy of the minister is needed in four areas: demography, children and family policy, digitisation policy, information space policy and science, higher education, technology and innovation policy.
These are all new policies that are characteristic of a modern state, complementary to classical ones, but do not require separate ministries in our system or at the current stage of development. These are policies that previous governments have not been able to tackle effectively for years. Now the opportunity has been created, and I hope it will happen.
This is something that has been left unfinished in the government's declaration.
For example, leaving digitisation to a 'high-level steering group' without a politically accountable official means to leave this crucial for the country's development area to a consensus of civil servants. This is absolutely insufficient. We need a clear policy and leadership on digitalisation. Therefore, I call on the Prime Minister to make use of this statutory right and to invite the deputies of the relevant minister soon.
Of course, the improvement of the governance system will not be finished with this. Adequate civil service structures, training of civil servants and the introduction of a remuneration system are of paramount importance.
It will also be necessary to think about the State Council as an institution that helps the government and the Saeima to build a legal system that is in line with the country's foundations and geared towards sustainable development. This will be the subject of a conference of experts tomorrow, 16 December, at the Riga Graduate School of Law.
There has also been a lot of talk in the coalition negotiations about the crisis management centre. However, no clear model has yet been outlined in the government declaration.
We will also have to discuss how to reduce the chronic problem of almost all Latvian governments - the weakness of the centre of government. There was some improvement when we joined the European Union, but now it has all slipped away again. We will have to talk about that.
There will be a lot of work, but I see that these issues are finally being addressed. That is one of the reasons why the coalition talks lasted two and a half months.
VII
I would like to draw your attention to one more aspect where the government will continue the work it has been doing, namely that in this year, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we see a turning point in overcoming our Russian colonial past.
This initiative really came from the people.
The current government has already done a lot - but not everything.
Under this government, the consequences of the occupation must be brought to a decisive end. After 30 years of cowardly delay, the decision has finally been taken for schools to switch to teaching in the national language. Historians will later see this as the most lasting achievement of the 13th Saeima and the previous government.
However, your government will have to ensure that in four years' time there will be enough teachers of the Latvian language in our schools. We will also need to address the issue of STEM subjects teachers and teachers of European Union languages.
The public space will have to be freed from signs of occupation, including street names.
We will have to ensure that the national language is enshrined in the public space so that no Latvian is discriminated against because he speaks the language of his country in any workplace or outside it, rather than the national language of Russia.
VIII
I would like to remind you that the Constitution sets out the overriding mission of the Latvian state: to guarantee the existence of the Latvian nation, its culture and its language throughout the centuries. You are the main responsible for this. And first, a clear understanding of the concepts is necessary.
At various stages of the declaration, formulations such as 'Latvian cultural space' or simply 'cultural space' appeared. These can be used in a report to identify everything that can be found in Latvia, not in the government declaration where there is a commitment to create a certain policy. This stated policy leads directly to a Latvian cultural space, not to some cultural space.
IX
The government's declaration also says good things about working with civil society. Little is said about how this will be ensured.
I call for the use of the mechanism of elected local councils in the Local Government Act. This is a very effective mechanism for local democracy and civil society involvement, which was adopted by the 13th Saeima and which must be implemented.
X
Honourable members of the government!
The coalition is made up of three different coalition partners with 54 votes. Whether that is a lot or a little... more would have been preferable, but 54 is also enough if there is discipline. This coalition is a compromise between the three partners' ideas of what good and right public policy should be.
A good compromise is one, where the ideas of the individual participants are synthesised. A bad compromise is one that is less than each individual idea.
I could see the characteristics of a good compromise in these long negotiations, which are reflected in the government declaration and will later be detailed in the government action plan.
We all hope that this compromise will provide a solid basis for the work of the government.
A government is a team, with members supporting each other, passing the ball to each other, and the Prime Minister is the team captain. Because a government can only achieve its goals as a team, and as a team the government will also be collectively accountable to the public for the results of its work, which ministers cannot achieve individually.
I wish you good cooperation and success in your work! Thank you!
