Latvia managed to diminish political influence of oligarchs, Latvian Premier

Latvia managed to diminish the influence of oligarchs on the political process in the country following the overcoming of the political crisis of 2011, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview for IPN Agency that was published on February 22, 2013. “The main reason for the dissolution of the Parliament of Latvia in 2011 that was followed by early elections was the excessive influence of several rich people with close relations between them, so-called oligarchs, on the political process. These were the first early elections that took place in Latvia ever. As a result of them, the oligarchs lost a considerable part of their political influence,” said the Latvian Premier. Asked what lessons Moldova can learn from Latvia’s experience in overcoming political crisis, Valdis Dombrovskis said the voters play a major role in this process. “If speaking about lessons, each country is unique and the experience of one state cannot be fully put into practice by another state. At the same time, I think everything depends on the voters’ will and their decision who should represent their interests in the state institutions. The larger the number of demands the voters have towards the politicians, the harder they will work in order to meet voters’ expectations and to keep their support,” he stated. He voiced hope that the coalition partners will manage to overcome the current crisis situation, will ensure stability and will continue the initiated reforms. “Latvia’s experience shows that the efforts made by the Government to implement reforms are very important in the European integration process. It is important that regardless of the divergence on certain issues, the coalition partners do not allow the subsequent misunderstandings to have a negative influence on the reforms and on the progress made by Moldova on the path to European integration,” said the Latvian Premier. He stressed the necessity of ensuring communication with society in the context of the reforms and European integration. “It is important that when following this path the authorities should understand that the efficient communication with society is a component part of the success in the European integration process. The people should be explained the necessity of the reforms implemented in the country and what advantages they will obtain from them and from the European integration in general in an accessible and convincing language,” the official said in an interview for IPN titled “Dombrobskis: Moldova’s good pace in Eurointegration should be justly appreciated”.