Inguna Sudraba sits at her desk in the state audit office. Photo used courtesy of Baltic Features.

RIGA — Inguna Sudraba, Latvia’s auditor general has all but admitted her political ambitions, though later she issued clarifications to back track on her statement.

Sudraba told Latvian television network TV5 in an interview that she was prepared to head a government or help implement an anti-crisis program.

“I am ready to do real work and not just politics for the sake of politics,” Sudraba said.

Sudraba said she would only join a new party and that she had already rejected an offer to join the newly formed Unity faction, a group of nationalist center-right parties. As she told TV5 that she would not work with people she didn’t trust.

Sudraba enjoys widespread trust in Latvian society, in particular for her scathing attacks on politicians, the Parex Bank bailout, and the current anti-crisis program. Previously she has been coy about her own future, so news of her statement Monday spread like brushfire in Latvian media, and soon she was forced to issue a clarification.

Sudraba told the Baltic News Service that the prospect of becoming prime minister didn’t appeal to her unless the political environment changes. “I was asked if I would be able [to become PM] in certain circumstances, and I answered that I would not,” the auditor said. “I explained that if there were a political party that would be new and convincing maybe I could consider such a possibility.”

In her clarification to the TVNet news portal, Sudraba said, “If I were to take on responsibility or some kind of post, then only with people whom I trust. This is possible only after forming a new political force with people who are trusted, and if their words match their deeds.”

Firecracker

Sudraba is one of Latvia’s most outspoken public servants, to the extent that she often she comments on issues outside her purview, such as economic policy. In fact, she seems the darling of many Latvian media outlets in that she can always be relied on offer a trenchant quote on the latest government decision.

In one of her department’s most controversial audits, she blasted the government, the Bank of Latvia, and the capital markets commission for botching the rescue of Parex Bank. The report evoked criticism from all quarters, and even former Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis traveled back to Latvia to once again defend his Cabinet’s record in handling the Parex insolvency.

Ivars Ijabs, a political scientist, told TVNet that Sudraba would be a strong candidate for the prime minister’ post and that she could use her popularity to facilitate Latvia’s recovery.

“But it would be difficult to consolidate political forces that would nominate Sudraba for the premier’s post since all parties will have their own candidates,” Ijabs added.