RIGA (AFP) - Five months after entering the European Union, the small Baltic state of Latvia was plunged into political turmoil as its minority coalition government was forced to resign after parliament rejected the draft 2005 budget.
The 100-strong parliament threw out the draft budget by 53 votes against, with 39 votes for and five abstentions. Right-wing opposition lawmakers and a pro-business party in the ruling coalition voted to bring the government down.
Latvian Prime Minister Indulis Emsis, Europe's first Green head of government, came to office only in March, after a right-wing coalition resigned because of squabbling within the government.
In accordance with the rules of Latvia's parliament, if lawmakers vote against the draft budget at its first or second reading, this is regarded as a vote of "no confidence" against the government.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who was to leave for Rome later on Thursday for the signature of the EU Constitution, must now nominate a new prime minister whom parliament must endorse.
The pro-business People's Party, which was the biggest party in the outgoing coalition, claimed the right to form a new majority government after siding with the opposition.
"We will cooperate with all right-wing parties and we are ready to form a new government as soon as practically possible," Aigars Kalvitis, the party's parliamentary group leader, told AFP.
Emsis' three-party minority coalition government, made up of his Greens and Farmers, the People's Party and Latvia's First Party was approved by the parliament on March 9 this year.
It had 47 deputies in parliament and relied on the support of a left-wing opposition party.
But it has been teetering on the verge of collapse since a disastrous performance in the European Parliament elections in June, in which right-wing parties won a crushing victory.
The conservative New Era party, whose leader Einars Repse had been prime minister in the previous government, meanwhile said that his party should form the core of the next government.
Repse told the BNS news agency that New Era was ready to start talks on a new government with the right-wing, free-market oriented For Fatherland and Freedom Party, and the People's Party.
But he insisted that they would not work together with "leftists and pro-Moscow forces."
New Era had criticised Emsis's government for cooperating with the former Soviet republic's left-wing opposition, saying it amounted to cooperation with Moscow.
Latvia, a small Baltic nation of 2.3 million people, joined the European Union and NATO this year.
But it has been racked by political instability. Since Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country has seen 11 successive coalition governments.
Emsis, who managed to hold out as the head of government for seven months and 19 days, was the second most short-lived prime minister.
10/28/2004 - 11:29 GMT - AFP