Latvia's center-right prime minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, has announced that he will step down later this week after the two other members of his three-party governing coalition rejected a Cabinet reshuffle. The prime minister, who belongs to the liberal-conservative New Unity party, had been pushing to widen the coalition to include the Alliance of Farmers and Greens and the Progressives, an idea that his coalition partners had rejected. "This Thursday I will submit the resignation of myself and this cabinet to the president," Karins told a press conference on Monday. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Karins said that Latvia's Green Party and the populist national association All for Latvia "are blocking work for welfare and economic growth". "For any country, there are difficulties when someone tries to hold on to their office," Karins told reporters after announcing his plans to resign, according to a Bloomberg report. "That's never been my goal." On Wednesday last week, the two other coalition parties — the conservative National Alliance and the centrist electoral alliance United List — rejected Kariņs's nominations for three ministerial posts and refused to back several of his policy projects. On Friday, Kariņs announced his intention to end the current grouping and form a new coalition government, with the plan of staying on as prime minister. But the two partners said it was against the Latvian Constitution for him to stay on, the Baltic News Service said. The coalition government headed by Kariņs was formed after last October's general election with a deal signed in December. Together, the three parties had a total of 54 seats in the country's 100-seat parliament, the Saeima. After winning general elections last October, a vote that was shaped by neighboring Russia's war in Ukraine and economic woes, Karins's New Unity party signed a deal with two other Latvian parties – National Alliance and the new centrist electoral alliance United List – to jointly rule the Baltic nation. The three parties pledged to focus on security, education, energy, competitiveness and quality of life. Karins said his New Unity party plans to select its candidate for the post of prime minister on Wednesday. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics will give a mandate to a new potential prime minister to try to form a government. Any new coalition would also face a vote in parliament before it can take office. The next Latvian election for parliament is scheduled for 2026.
