Latvian Prime Minister Loses Parliamentary Majority

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina lost her ruling majority in parliament on Wednesday after the left-wing Progressives party withdrew its support. The move followed the dismissal at the weekend of the party's defense minister, Andris Spruds, over his handling of incidents involving stray Ukrainian drones that had crossed into Latvia from Russia.

"The current prime minister does not have nine votes from the Progressives", Andris Suvajevs, head of the Progressives' parliamentary caucus, told reporters after a meeting with Silina on Wednesday. "Therefore we call on President Edgars Rinkevics to begin political consultations on the formation of a new government right now."

Silina can either resign or wait for parliament to remove her. She wrote on X that she was in discussions with her New Unity party and the other coalition partner, the Greens and Farmers Union, about their next steps.

President Rinkevics will meet with all parliamentary factions on Friday. The opposition United List party announced on Wednesday that it would initiate a vote of no confidence in Silina and said it was prepared to lead the next government.

(reuters, max)