Cibiņš has already destroyed seaports, now it is the airports' turn

Just a short while ago we could be proud of the aviation industry and Riga Airport as the central transport hub among our neighbors. But let us agree that being somewhere in the lead is not really in line with our national character. Therefore, this dissonance should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Commenting on the government's decision of March 4 to extend the ban on flights to third countries, Minister of Transport Tālis Linkaits acknowledged that Riga International Airport is currently losing the status of the Baltic transit hub. He pointed out that before the crisis, all "serious" flights initially arrived in Riga and only then were distributed to other airports in the Baltic States, but now such a system no longer exists, and this is a deliberate decision of the government.

This government decision cannot be considered in isolation from our national character mentioned in the first paragraph, which Krišjānis Kariņš convincingly embodies. If one has forgotten these characteristics, then one should hurry to read Jānis Poruks' legendary story Battle at Knipska, where everyone can determine who is closer to the Latvian mentality - the weak Cibiņš or the healthy Buņģis. At the moment, everything shows that we can emerge from the pandemic in the aviation sector in the same way that we already have in many other places. As laggards, who keep lamenting - in Estonia they do things like this, in Lithuania - like this, but with us it is as always - an uphill climb.

The government's decision to ban flights from/to countries outside the EU was initially taken unilaterally. In this case, it means that the ban was not coordinated in any way with other EU countries, primarily Lithuania and Estonia. As a result, you can fly directly from Vilnius and Tallinn airports to Moscow, Istanbul and Kyiv (not to mention Sharm el-Sheikh and Antalya), but not from Riga Airport. All this is also reflected in the performance of airports.

We can, of course, talk of the danger to human lives and health, which are incomparably more important than flying somewhere, and that is the indisputable truth, the only question is whether the decision to restrict something has a point if all the gates nearby are open? Aren't many of these restrictions being introduced just to be able to say: "We are doing everything we can but..."

In my opinion, the problem is at the heart of Kariņš's government. Once upon a time, with the easy hand of colleague Agnese Margēviča, the division of Latvian politicians into choir singers and Zolīte players was introduced. To explain without imaginative metaphors - in talkers and doers. It should be pointed out at the outset that I do not want to rank these types of politicians in any way - to put one above the other, because each of them has its pros and cons. Choir singers (talkers) are like pastors in the past - their task is to educate the people, to call them to live according to the "scriptures", to comfort and promise that it will get better someday. Unfortunately, their speeches won't put food on your plate, and, most importantly, in a difficult time, they don't know how to do anything apart from preaching.

However, Zolīte players are not perfect either. If we return to aviation, we cannot fail to mention the merits of the typical “doer” Ainārs Šlesers at the fact that Latvia became dominant in the Baltics in this sector. Despite his energy and ability to work, Šlesers did not become the most outstanding politician in Latvia. Apparently, there was something in his work that seemed unacceptable to a large part of society. It would be better to have a choir singer, these people thought to themselves.

Although Kariņš also has some traits of a businessman (after all, he traded in ice and also tried to earn money in real estate transactions), in his deepest essence he is definitely a "choir singer", who seems to be a more acceptable type of politician to a large part of Latvian society.

The Kariņš government remains afloat on the support from this part of the society. This part of society has a great influence in the public sphere, and, as it is constantly repeated in our neighboring country - don’t change horses in midstream! If not him, then who else!

The main problem for these politicians-talkers is that they can work somewhat well under normal conditions, when like a tram driver you need to pull only two knobs. Unfortunately, in crisis situations, instead of holding the steering wheel and leading convincingly, they continue to preach, resulting in the gradual degradation of all structures. The fact that last year Latvian seaports experienced a huge drop in turnover was written off to the pandemic by some loyalists, but others did not even consider it a government failure. Ports have never been socially close to these people. On the contrary, they have always counted the birthplaces of the "oligarchs", so their substantial emaciation only warms their hearts at a subconscious level.

The aviation industry has not traditionally been close to our Pharisees-scribes either. Behind its heyday stood the hated Šlesers, and at the cradle of airBaltic stood the no less hated Bertolt Flick. Consequently, the threat to the further development of this sector is not in the focus of these people. Aviation is not some sort of Istanbul Convention or even a partnership regulation that is worth worrying about and sounding the alarm bells.

What is happening in the aviation sector, which Minister Linkaits is talking about, is simply a natural result of Kariņš's government's style of work. You can, of course, pretend that it is not that bad. You can say that we will stand with our Cibiņš until the end and will not allow any Buņģis to hurt him, but at some point, it must be understood that this Kariņš-Cibiņš government is hurting Latvia and the Latvian people with its chaotic actions.

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