Bijusī veselības ministre Ilze Viņķele politiskās aprindās ir pretrunīgi vērtēta. Viņa ir spilgta, pārliecināta un izteikumos nepiegludināta. Viņai pārmet nediplomātiskumu, pat kašķīgumu. Daudziem tādi cilvēki nepatīk. Dažiem tieši tāpēc, ka paši tā nevar – atļauties brīžiem būt pārgalvīgi (neapdomīgi).
23. februārī Latvijas Nacionālajā operā pirmizrādi uz Rīgas skatuves ieraudzīs Alvja Hermaņa 2014. gadā Briselē iestudētā čehu komponista Leoša Janāčeka opera “Jenūfa”. Šis bija formālais iemesls, lai parunātu ar mūsu izcilo režisoru gan par šo iestudējumu, gan arī par tiem notikumiem, kuri satrauc visu pasauli un pret kuriem arī Hermanis nav un nevar būt vienaldzīgs.
Iepretim iepriekšējiem ministriem Jurim Pūcem un Arturam Tomam Plešam, kuri vairāk bija dīvāna (kafejnīcu) politiķi, Sprindžuks ir izteikts pašvaldībnieks. Lai arī dzimis un strādājis ne tajā nabadzīgākajā pašvaldībā (Ādažos), viņš ir cilvēks, kurš saprot šo hronisko sāpi, kad Rīgas kungi nedzird pašvaldību “provinciāļus”. “Neatkarīgās” saruna ar vides un reģionālās attīstības ministru Māri Sprindžuku.
Par ukraiņu nešaubīgo uzvaru, tās cenu, Eiropas un Latvijas sirdsapziņu “Neatkarīgās” saruna ar Ukrainas pilnvaroto vēstnieku Latvijā Oleksandru Miščenko.
Latvijas valsts svētku – 18. novembra – priekšvakarā uz sarunu aicināju vienu no mūsu patriotisma simboliem – Atmodas laika galvenā okupācijas grāvēja kultūras jomā, Zigmara Liepiņa un Māras Zālītes rokoperas “Lāčplēsis” titullomas izpildītāju Igo. Intervijas brīdī Igo atradās Beļģijā, kur turpināja aktīvu koncertdarbību.
Latvijas Zaļās partijas līderis un viens no “Apvienotā saraksta” sarunvedējiem koalīcijas veidošanas procesā Edgars Tavars uz interviju ierodas nedaudz satraucies. Viņš nupat izgājis no Saeimas ēkas un uz ielas saskrējies ar ZZS premjera amata kandidātu Aivaru Lembergu. “Ko man bija darīt?” smejoties jautā Tavars. “Pagriezties un iet uz pretējo pusi? Protams, turpat arī mūs nofotografēja un tagad man sūta šīs bildes, ar kurām pilns internets.”
Edvīns Šnore, a member of the Saeima, has sent a petition to the Minister of the Interior calling for the cancellation of the residence permit of Yelena Lukjanova, whose "public activities are contrary to Latvia's national interests".
Politicians are fond of phrases and slogans: let's fight corruption, let's fight the shadow economy, let's fight social division and inequality, let's promote economic growth, social solidarity and the well-being of the population. For all the good, against all the bad. And so on and on. Completely empty words. But they are afraid of direct, concrete questions. For example, would they vote for the restoration of the mask regime?
The nation's beloved actor and director, Intars Rešetins, has had to feel on his own skin the new "liberal" reality these days after he dared to write next to this picture: "Where are we going?"
Now that the war in Ukraine has been going on for five months and there is no sign of an end in the near future, one must try to understand how Putin plans to win this war, because objectively Russia's stand against the rest of the world, which supports Ukraine, is rather hopeless.
At the end of June, Georgia was swept by a wave of demonstrations unprecedented since the early 1990s. What were they protesting against? Against the EU's refusal to admit Georgia as a candidate country.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of two "matches of the century". Although I was only nine years old in 1972, I remember them both very well, because they were indeed events that will be etched in my memory for the rest of my life.
It is a peculiarity of Latvian political life that shortly before elections, parties actively recruit popular figures to their lists. Just now, Development/For! (Attīstībai/Par!) has announced that its list will include the well-known doctor Anatolijs Danilāns, the spouse of the former Estonian president Ieva Ilves and the TV actor Andris Lielais, the actor in Solovyov TV who defected from Russia.
Defense Minister Artis Pabriks' remarks on the necessity of introducing compulsory military service have sparked a justified debate, as there are many unclear issues. Let us not speculate on how much this move by Pabriks has been aligned with the upcoming elections and how much with the real need. Perhaps the two coincided. Let us talk about the controversial issue of women's service. Why is women's service voluntary?
Prices are rising sharply all over the world, but Latvia is one of the euro area countries that has taken the lead. In May, annual inflation in Latvia was 16.9%. Data for June will be published tomorrow, but no significant changes are expected. What do these figures mean, and what can we expect in the future?
The long-awaited and already historic NATO Madrid Summit has come to an end. While it can always be said that it could have been better, overall we can be satisfied with the decisions taken there. The main result was the new NATO strategy, which identifies Russia as the main threat.
Late on Saturday evening, traffic was blocked in central Moscow to allow the presidential motorcade to enter the Kremlin at high speed. Immediately, rumors spread that a special, extraordinary announcement was being prepared.
On June 24, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled to overturn earlier rulings of the same Supreme Court that prohibit banning abortion. Now each US state will once again be able to decide on abortion issues on its own, according to the discretion of the majority of its citizens.
On June 18, Lithuania introduced rail transit restrictions to the Kaliningrad region for Russian goods included in the EU's fourth sanctions package. This decision has caused a storm of indignation and veiled threats in Russia. How serious is the situation?
The much-criticized leaders of France, Germany and Italy - Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi - together with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, finally arrived in Kyiv last Thursday for a solidarity visit. The first visible results seem promising.
On June 8 this year, Russian State Duma deputy Yevgeny Fyodorov submitted a draft law to "parliament" which would annul the decision of the USSR State Council of September 6, 1991, on the recognition of Lithuania's independence. In response to this international outburst, some Lithuanian jokesters proposed to annul the 1634 Treaty of Polyanovka, by which the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ceded the Smolensk area to Russia.