Latvia Premier Scrambles for New Coalition

RIGA, Latvia — Latvia’s three-party centrist government collapsed Tuesday after a junior coalition partner withdrew its support in a dispute over privatization in the former Soviet republic.

Prime Minister Andris Skele, at loggerheads with the Fatherland and Freedom Party, said he would seek to form a new coalition with other parties in the 100-seat Parliament.

“We will consult with the other coalition partner [Latvia’s Way] and other political forces about possibilities for stabilizing this government,” Skele said.

Skele, who faces a confidence vote Thursday, demanded the resignation of all five Fatherland and Freedom Cabinet members.

Last week, Skele fired Economy Minister Vladimirs Makarovs, a member of Fatherland, after the minister withdrew the signing rights of privatization agency chief Janis Naglis, in effect stripping him of the power to run the agency.

Fatherland renominated Makarovs, but Tuesday afternoon Skele rejected the proposal and reappointed Naglis as head of the privatization agency, prompting Fatherland to withdraw its support.

Makarovs’ dismissal opened a long-festering rift in the coalition government, which would be reduced to minority status without Fatherland and Freedom’s 16 seats. Skele’s People’s Party has 24 seats, and Latvia’s Way has 21.