We’ve Forgotten We’re a Democracy
RIGA – This is the beginning of the end of one of the most durable governments in the modern Latvian history.
Signs of cracks continue to persist.
Last week, unions gathered more than 3,000 of their members before the parliament building to demand their wishes be heard as the parliament was about to debate the next year’s budget.
This morning, in spite of the less than 24 hours notice on a weekday, in the cold, wet weather, more than 5,000 people gathered at the Saeima building, singing songs, holding signs.
They demanded the resignation of this government. They called on the president to dismiss the parliament. They wanted blood of the prime minister Aigars Kalvitis and the transport minister Ainars Slesers.
“Stop stealing,” they shouted. “Stop lying.”
People flooded the street outside the parliament building, spilling into the nearby streets. That’s how much they have grown weary of lies.
The umbrellaed crowd didn’t resemble an angry mob. Quite the opposite. People of different ages wanted to have their voices heard because they have been feeling ignored for so long.
And for the first time in the last few months, I’ve felt that the real power was not inside the parliament building.
It was outside on the street.
Foreigners here observed that to make Latvians come out in such large numbers, you have to really piss them off.
And people are pissed.
When the government played political intrigues in the run-up to presidential elections and people protested outside the parliament and their calls fell on deaf ears, the people patiently took that in.
When the government have ignored signs of overheating economy from the Latvian Central Bank, international credit agencies and local macroeconomic experts, the people patiently took that in.
When the government decided to deal with the Loskutovs factor, attempting to circumvent the law regulating the anti-corruption agency that have been successfully fighting corruption, they’re pissed and they want blood.
Once a guarantor of stability, the four-party ruling coalition have been showing some significant cracks.
The
The Fatherlander candidate for the economic minister had unexpectedly withdrawn his candidacy.
Visvaldis Lacis, a respected member of the Greens, a former Latvian Legioner, said that for the first time he had left pressure from his party leadership to vote a certain way.
In the end though, people need to be heard. As Peteris points out, “Let the people be heard — the only way to slay the cynicism and nihilism that infects every level of Latvian society is to get the political élite to listen.”
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