[Marxism] Latvian government falls

[Joonas Laine <jjonas@xxxxxx>]

Latvian government falls
LEIGH PHILLIPS
20.02.2009 @ 18:02 CET
http://euobserver.com/9/27656

The Latvian prime minister and his government have resigned amid growing 
political and economic strife in the Baltic country.

Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis submitted his resignation to the 
president, Valdis Zatlers, on Friday (20 February) afternoon after the 
two largest parties in the ruling four-party coalition demanded he step 
down.

Earlier in the day, Mareks Seglins, the head of the People Party, which 
held the most seats in the coalition, said that his party and the Union 
of Greens and Farmers said he should go.

President Zatlers has said he is to immediately start talks with all 
parties on the formation of a new government.

Mr Godmanis, of the Latvian Way party - the third largest within the 
coalition - survived a no-confidence motion in the parliament on 3 February.

The economic crisis has hit Latvia harder than most other EU states, 
with the country receiving a â7.5 billion emergency bail-out from the 
IMF and the EU.

Latvia's economy contracted by 10.5 percent year on year in the final 
quarter of 2008 and its GDP is expected to fall 12 percent in 2009.

The economic collapse has in turn provoked rolling civil unrest, in 
which thousands rioted in the capital on 13 January and farmers in 
February blocked roads and surrounded government buildings, ultimately 
winning the resignation of the agriculture minister.

The fall of Mr Godmanis' coalition is the first European Union 
government to fall as a result of the economic crisis, and the second 
such collapse after Iceland.

________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: 
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40archives.econ.utah.edu