Latvia Weekly Podcast #31: Hello President Levits, Hello Goodbye Mayor Turlais? News from May 29th - June 4th, 2019

Latvia has a new president and Rīga has a new mayor, but one of them might not be able to hold onto his job for very long. Before joining Kris Akenfelds by phone to hear about the latest on his 50-day his cycling trip across the country, Otto and Joe break down the latest drama both on Rīga city council and in the KPV LV parliamentary faction as well as good news for rail and air travelers, not so good news for the Latvian economy, positive trends in Latvia’s relations with Russia, and much more!



You can find Kris Akenfelds' blog Akenfelds on the Road here.

Links to stories discussed:

• Egils Levits elected President of Latvia (LSM)
• Newly elected Mayor of Rīga Dainis Turlais faces vote of no confidence just days into tenure (LSM, in Latvian)
• Coalition loses majority due to expulsion of four city councilors from Saskaņa faction (LSM)
• KPV LV Saeima deputies Linda Liepiņa and Katrīna Sprūde abandon party (LSM)
• KNAB: Eight of 16 parties failed to disclose campaign expenditures properly, three accepted illegal donations (LSM)
• 430 million euro Rail Baltica contract signed for central station/bridge (LSM)
• Money from Skanste tram project likely to be spent on Daugavpils and Liepāja tram infrastructure (LSM, in Latvian)
• Council of Europe’s GRECO complains Latvia hasn’t done enough about corruption reform (TVNET, in Latvian)
• 13 schools to be closed, dozen more reorganized or merged this year (LSM, in Latvian)
• Latvia's first quarter GDP growth lowest in the Baltic (LSM)
• Finance Minister hints Latvia could lower alcohol tax to compete with new Estonia measures (Baltic Course)
• Top level meeting between Russian and Latvian diplomats signals improvement of economic relations (Diena, in Latvian)

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