RIGA — Saeima deputy Ingmars Līdaka was known more for his knowledge of animals than for his temper before this week.

It all began with just an angry phrase by Saeima deputy Ingmars Līdaka of the Greens and Farmers Union party during a debate Oct. 15.

Līdaka, unamused by the leftist deputies’ comments made while he was addressing the Saeima regarding the mandated raising of the Latvian flag on national holidays, let the opposition parties have it.

Saeima deputy Ingmars Līdaka shouts “Shut your mouth!” ("Aizver muti!") at the parliament in this screenshot of the YouTube video.

“Shut your mouth!” (“Aizver muti!”) Līdaka shouted to For Human Rights in United Latvia party deputies and called them “leftist birds and mammals from the zoo.” This was enough to create a pop culture phenomenon similar to the “Nothing special” phrase uttered by the previous finance minister Atis Slakteris.

A YouTube video of the incident has been viewed by more than 90,000 people as of Thursday evening. People have also made funny remixes of it with South Park, the Simpsons and techno music, among other things. There are also mobile phone ring tones with Līdaka’s shouting, as well as t-shirts on sale in Riga.

In response Līdaka wryly said, “I hope that this becomes my input to the state budget, because people buy these things and pay taxes.”

Līdaka said he has received hundreds of emails, mostly encouraging and from young people. But the deputy is trying to play down the significance his outburst.

“People should pay attention to the national holidays, what they signify and why we celebrate on these days,” Līdaka told newspaper Diena, pointing to dates like Nov. 18, Latvia’s independence day.

Some have questioned if it is ethically correct for a deputy to speak like this in Saeima.

“I am an example for the fact that people in Saeima are alive. But I don’t feel good about it. It is not in my nature, to explode like this. It just happened, and there were reasons for it,” Līdaka explained in  LNT television “900 seconds” morning program Thursday.

Saeima deputy Nikolaja Kabanova of the For Human Rights in United Latvia party said his comment that provoked Līdaka, that the left-wing parties would end holidays like the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia Day was “a kind of humorous and sarcastic expression.” However, Līdaka characterizes the remark as a provocation to “Latvian-minded deputies in Saeima.”

While Līdaka may not attain the height of YouTube celebrity reached by the likes of Rick Astley and the Obama Girl, the ratings of his television show about nature “Dabas Grāmata” gone way up since the incident in Saeima.