2nd attempt to form Latvia's next gov't fails

A second attempt to form Latvia's next government ended in a failure on Monday as President Raimonds Vejonis withdrew the nomination of Aldis Gobzems as prime minister designate.

Vejonis decided to withdrawn Gobzems' nomination and resume consultations with the political parties represented in the parliament after a brief conversation with the prime minister designate who had sought a meeting with the president in a last-ditch effort to convince him of his vision on how the political process should be advanced.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting with Gobzems in Riga Castle, President Vejonis admitted he was saddened by the excessively prolonged government formation process, but said that he intended to meet with leaders of parliamentary groups on Tuesday to pick another candidate for prime minister that could secure sufficient parliamentary support to get his cabinet appointed.

Last Friday, Gobzems withdrew his proposal to form a five-party cabinet that would include his KPV LV party, the New Conservative Party, the right-wing National Alliance, the center-right New Unity and the centrist the Greens and Farmers Union as the parties could not overcome their mutual disagreements, the New Conservative Party's refusal to enter a coalition with the Greens and Farmers being one of the main obstacles.

Although last weekend Gobzems promised to present three new government formation scenarios to the president, his statements received little attention from potential partners.

Janis Bordans, leader of the New Conservative Party, was the first candidate to be designated as Latvia's next prime minister in November, but his attempt to assemble a center-right cabinet also failed.