Kampars under fire from opposition

The opposition says Kampers must take responsibility for slow economic growth in Latvia, as well as the country's unemployment problem. The prime minister accused the opposition parties of trying to destabilize the government ahead of the fall elections.

RIGA — Latvia’s Minister of Economic Affairs Artis Kampars will soon face a vote of no confidence after the opposition called for him to be removed from his post because of his performance in the role.

Unemployment is high in Latvia as the country has been hammered by the economic crisis under the current government. The opposition said that the ministry had to take responsibility for the situation and step down.

The motion submitted by [private_supervisor]Harmony Center, People’s Party and Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way parliament members will be voted for on June 10.

Saeima Deputy Chairman Andrejs Klementjevs told LETA that he signed the request to vote to remove Kampars because he believes that he has to take responsibility for slow economic growth in Latvia, as well as the country’s unemployment problem.

The impending vote to remove the minister follows repeated failed attempts by the same opposition politicians in the Saeima to request an official inquiry into the sale of the nationalized bank Parex’s leasing company in Belarus, which was given away for $100 and the chance to recoup the $5.8 million of initial investment.

The opposition want an inquiry into the situation because they say there is corruption involved in the deal. They said in their request to remove the minister that the government had invested around €1 billion in the nationalization of the bank and therefore have the people’s interests to consider, a point they allege has been ignored.

The vote, which was taken twice failed twice because the vote tally came out at 49 for and 49 against on both counts. Under the Saeima’s Rules of Procedure, the vote failed.

Kampars said that the flurry of votes against him is just pre-election rhetoric aimed at destabilizing the government.

“The opposition are looking for any pretext to destabilize the Dombrovskis government. Even if the Latvian state was thrown back to the situation that prevailed last summer — the overall volatility and uncertainty about the future, which caused confusion among local business and a temporary decline — foreign investors and international lenders distrust Latvia’s ability to implement extremely heavy rearrangements, which were necessary to overcome the crisis,” Kampars told the Diena newspaper.

When Parex leasing in Belarus was sold, Kampars and Parex bank chairman Nils Melngailis underlined that the $100 was a symbolic initial figure, which would be increased based on the performance of the company. Debts owed to the company, totaling around 1.7 million lats, still need to be paid to the bank. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]Harmony Center, People’s Party and Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way parliament members will be voted for on June 10.

Saeima Deputy Chairman Andrejs Klementjevs told LETA that he signed the request to vote to remove Kampars because he believes that he has to take responsibility for slow economic growth in Latvia, as well as the country’s unemployment problem.

The impending vote to remove the minister follows repeated failed attempts by the same opposition politicians in the Saeima to request an official inquiry into the sale of the nationalized bank Parex’s leasing company in Belarus, which was given away for $100 and the chance to recoup the $5.8 million of initial investment.

The opposition want an inquiry into the situation because they say there is corruption involved in the deal. They said in their request to remove the minister that the government had invested around €1 billion in the nationalization of the bank and therefore have the people’s interests to consider, a point they allege has been ignored.

The vote, which was taken twice failed twice because the vote tally came out at 49 for and 49 against on both counts. Under the Saeima’s Rules of Procedure, the vote failed.

Kampars said that the flurry of votes against him is just pre-election rhetoric aimed at destabilizing the government.

“The opposition are looking for any pretext to destabilize the Dombrovskis government. Even if the Latvian state was thrown back to the situation that prevailed last summer — the overall volatility and uncertainty about the future, which caused confusion among local business and a temporary decline — foreign investors and international lenders distrust Latvia’s ability to implement extremely heavy rearrangements, which were necessary to overcome the crisis,” Kampars told the Diena newspaper.

When Parex leasing in Belarus was sold, Kampars and Parex bank chairman Nils Melngailis underlined that the $100 was a symbolic initial figure, which would be increased based on the performance of the company. Debts owed to the company, totaling around 1.7 million lats, still need to be paid to the bank. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]Harmony Center, People’s Party and Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way parliament members will be voted for on June 10.

Saeima Deputy Chairman Andrejs Klementjevs told LETA that he signed the request to vote to remove Kampars because he believes that he has to take responsibility for slow economic growth in Latvia, as well as the country’s unemployment problem.

The impending vote to remove the minister follows repeated failed attempts by the same opposition politicians in the Saeima to request an official inquiry into the sale of the nationalized bank Parex’s leasing company in Belarus, which was given away for $100 and the chance to recoup the $5.8 million of initial investment.

The opposition want an inquiry into the situation because they say there is corruption involved in the deal. They said in their request to remove the minister that the government had invested around €1 billion in the nationalization of the bank and therefore have the people’s interests to consider, a point they allege has been ignored.

The vote, which was taken twice failed twice because the vote tally came out at 49 for and 49 against on both counts. Under the Saeima’s Rules of Procedure, the vote failed.

Kampars said that the flurry of votes against him is just pre-election rhetoric aimed at destabilizing the government.

“The opposition are looking for any pretext to destabilize the Dombrovskis government. Even if the Latvian state was thrown back to the situation that prevailed last summer — the overall volatility and uncertainty about the future, which caused confusion among local business and a temporary decline — foreign investors and international lenders distrust Latvia’s ability to implement extremely heavy rearrangements, which were necessary to overcome the crisis,” Kampars told the Diena newspaper.

When Parex leasing in Belarus was sold, Kampars and Parex bank chairman Nils Melngailis underlined that the $100 was a symbolic initial figure, which would be increased based on the performance of the company. Debts owed to the company, totaling around 1.7 million lats, still need to be paid to the bank. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]Harmony Center, People’s Party and Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way parliament members will be voted for on June 10.

Saeima Deputy Chairman Andrejs Klementjevs told LETA that he signed the request to vote to remove Kampars because he believes that he has to take responsibility for slow economic growth in Latvia, as well as the country’s unemployment problem.

The impending vote to remove the minister follows repeated failed attempts by the same opposition politicians in the Saeima to request an official inquiry into the sale of the nationalized bank Parex’s leasing company in Belarus, which was given away for $100 and the chance to recoup the $5.8 million of initial investment.

The opposition want an inquiry into the situation because they say there is corruption involved in the deal. They said in their request to remove the minister that the government had invested around €1 billion in the nationalization of the bank and therefore have the people’s interests to consider, a point they allege has been ignored.

The vote, which was taken twice failed twice because the vote tally came out at 49 for and 49 against on both counts. Under the Saeima’s Rules of Procedure, the vote failed.

Kampars said that the flurry of votes against him is just pre-election rhetoric aimed at destabilizing the government.

“The opposition are looking for any pretext to destabilize the Dombrovskis government. Even if the Latvian state was thrown back to the situation that prevailed last summer — the overall volatility and uncertainty about the future, which caused confusion among local business and a temporary decline — foreign investors and international lenders distrust Latvia’s ability to implement extremely heavy rearrangements, which were necessary to overcome the crisis,” Kampars told the Diena newspaper.

When Parex leasing in Belarus was sold, Kampars and Parex bank chairman Nils Melngailis underlined that the $100 was a symbolic initial figure, which would be increased based on the performance of the company. Debts owed to the company, totaling around 1.7 million lats, still need to be paid to the bank. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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