Latvia taps centre-right candidate to form government

Silina, a former lawyer who was welfare minister in the outgoing government, still needs to win a confidence vote in a fractured parliament, where her party commands 26 votes. Karins, also of New Unity, the largest in the 100-seat parliament, announced his resignation on Aug. 14, blaming a breakdown in relations with parts of his multi-party coalition.

Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics on Thursday tasked Evika Silina of the centre-right New Unity party with forming the next government following the resignation of Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. Silina, a former lawyer who was welfare minister in the outgoing government, still needs to win a confidence vote in a fractured parliament, where her party commands 26 votes.

Karins, also of New Unity, the largest in the 100-seat parliament, announced his resignation on Aug. 14, blaming a breakdown in relations with parts of his multi-party coalition. The New Unity governed the European Union nation of 1.9 million with support from the conservative National Alliance and the United List of smaller parties, giving him a narrow parliamentary majority.

But relations with the coalition soured after it failed to field a joint candidate in a presidential election in May. Latvia's next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2026.