Latvia: Political scientists criticise outgoing president Levits

Latvian political scientists Juris Rozenvalds and Ilga Kreituse criticised outgoing president Egils Levits in an interview on DELFI’s podcast with Danuta Dembovska. Professor Rozenvalds of the University of Latvia said that Levits’s foreign policy activity was positive, whereas the president’s achievements in domestic policy were “zero.” Levits promised a lot but failed to deliver, Rozenvalds stated. In terms of interethnic relations, the president’s term was a “fat minus,” Rozenvalds argued. He said that Levits was not above politics and lent support to the ruling coalition. Professor Kreituse of Riga Stradins University noted that for a president to fail in foreign policy would take “great talent.” As for domestic issues, Levits failed to make use of the opportunities given to him in interethnic relations, language policy, and education, Kreituse said. She noted that the president never disagreed with the government.