Latvia: Prime Minister Evika Silina resigns over handling of drone incidents after coalition ally's withdrawal

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina on Thursday said she was resigning in response to her coalition government breaking up. 

"I am resigning, but I am not giving up," Silina said in a televised statement. 

Silina, of the center-right New Unity party, was left without a ruling majority in the parliament as of Wednesday, when the left-wing Progressive party said it was withdrawing its support. 

This followed the removal of former Defense Minister Andris Spruds, a member of the Progressives, over the handling of incidents of stray Ukrainian drones flying into Latvia from Russia. Two major Russian oil facilities in the Baltic are located near the borders to Estonia and Latvia. The flight path from Ukraine runs along Latvia's eastern border; drone defense systems can scramble the vehicles' navigation. 

What did Silina say? 

The prime minister issued similar comments about her resignation online, blaming her political opponents for the government crisis. 

"My priority now and always has been the well-being and security of the people of Latvia. Parties and coalitions change, but Latvia remains," Silina wrote. "At present, political jealousy and narrow party interests have taken precedence over responsibility. Seeing a strong and professional candidate for the post of Minister of Defense, political talkers chose not a solution, but a crisis."

Silina said she had always "behaved responsibly" towards her coalition partners and had "held together very different political forces, because my task was to ensure that the country moved forward." 

Silina had forced Spruds to resign, saying that Latvia's drone defense had not been deployed quickly enough to neutralized the threat. She took on the role of defense minster herself on an interim basis. 

The Progressives argued that Silina had made Spruds a scapegoat for wider failings. 

One of the stray drones caused a fire at a disused oil storage site in eastern Latvia. The incidents raised questions about the country's defense readiness.

How volunteer Baltic troops prepare for conflict with Russia

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What happens next?

Latvian President Edgar Rinkevics, who is tasked by the constitution to select a leader of the government, will meet representatives of all parliamentary parties on Friday. 

The three-party coalition was already under strain over a variety of policies. 

Silina's center-right New Unity party was the largest in the alliance, with 25 seats, followed by the agrarian ZZS Union of Greens and Farmers with 16. The Progressives only held nine seats in Riga's parliament, but all of these were still needed as well as at least one extra vote from outside the main coalition in order for the government to command a slim majority. 

Elections were already scheduled for October of this year, with the controversy seemingly firing an early starting pistol for the campaign. 

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar