Latvia’s prime minister, Evika Silina, announced her resignation on Thursday after her three-party coalition lost its parliamentary majority. She said in a televised address that she was stepping down but not abandoning public service, and blamed political infighting for the collapse.
The crisis followed the withdrawal of support by the left-wing Progressives, who pulled out of the coalition after the government removed former Defense Minister Andris Spruds. Spruds, a member of the Progressives, was dismissed over the government’s handling of several incidents in which Ukrainian drones flew into Latvian territory from areas near the Russian border.
The stray drones highlighted vulnerabilities in Latvia’s air defenses. One of the unmanned aircraft started a fire at a disused oil storage site in eastern Latvia, prompting criticism about the speed and effectiveness of the country’s response. Latvia sits along a flight corridor from Ukraine and neighboring drone activity has been concentrated near the country’s eastern border; NATO-style defenses can disrupt drone navigation, complicating both detection and attribution.
Silina, of the center-right New Unity party, said she had proposed a military officer to replace Spruds but that the Progressives rejected the nominee. She argued that she had acted responsibly and that political jealousy and narrow party interests had overtaken responsibility. The Progressives countered that Spruds had been made a scapegoat for broader shortcomings in Latvia’s defense preparedness.
After removing Spruds, Silina temporarily took on the defense portfolio herself while the dispute intensified. The row over the appointment and the handling of the drone incidents left the coalition without the nine seats held by the Progressives in parliament and unable to command the slim majority it previously held.
Latvian President Edgar Rinkevics, who by the constitution is responsible for asking someone to form a government, will meet party leaders to discuss the way forward. The governing alliance had already been strained by disagreements on several policies. New Unity is the largest party in the coalition with 25 seats, the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) holds 16, and the Progressives had nine; the coalition required all these votes plus at least one additional vote to maintain a majority.
Elections are scheduled for October, and the political fallout from the drone incidents is likely to shape the campaign. For now, the president’s consultations will determine whether a new coalition can be formed or if the resignation triggers an early change in government leadership.