Latvia's Government Resigns
Latvia's government resigned Thursday after lawmakers refused to pass the 2005 budget that had been proposed by Prime Minister Indulis Emsis. The parliament voted 53-39 against the budget, while five lawmakers abstained Emsis, whose Greens and Farmers Union party has been in power in a coalition with Latvia's First Party and the left-wing People's Harmony Party, were in favor of the budget, along with the Latvian Socialist Party. But lawmakers and members of the Ruling People's Party and right-wing opposition parties New Time and Fatherland and Freedom, along with For Human Rights in a United Latvia, rejected the proposal. Emsis, in Rome for the signing of the European Union Constitution, had no immediate comment. The ruling coalition had just 47 seats in the 100-seat parliament. It came into power in March. It was the 10th government for the Baltic state of 2.3 million since it regained independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse.
Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-10-28 |