Future uncertain for Latvia as Bordans fails to form government

The leader of Latvia's New Conservative Party, Janis Bordans, abandoned his attempt to form a government on Wednesday after three potential coalition partners pulled out of talks.

The president nominated Bordans as prime minister last week and gave him a deadline of Nov. 21 to form a government after October's vote, which delivered a fragmented parliament of seven parties.

"I have told the president that the government that I had intended [to form], is not possible at the moment," Bordans told Reuters after meeting the president.

Bordans had been holding talks with the populist KPV LV, Development/For, the National Alliance and the New Unity parties. All but the KPV LV pulled out of the discussions.

The three parties said they left the talks because of a lack of mutual trust.

Bordans had pledged to form a government that would fight corruption and seek to restore the rule of law in the Baltic country of two million. His party won 13.6 per cent of the vote in October.

Latvia has been struggling to restore its reputation after a series of corruption and money-laundering scandals.

Central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics is awaiting trial on charges of accepting a bribe and one of the biggest banks, ABLV, went into liquidation this year after U.S. authorities accused it of laundering vast sums of money for people from the former Soviet Union.

(With inputs from agencies.)