Veiko Spolītis: Latvia's President Rinkēvičs knows how to respect his constitutional limits

Latvian political scientist Veiko Spolītis described Latvia's President Edgars Rinkēvičs's background and role in the country's politics. According to Spolītis, Rinkēvičs cannot be accused of excessive involvement in foreign policy, unlike some of his predecessors. Latvia's presidential elections differ from Estonia's because Latvia lacks an electoral college-like institution.

Latvian political scientist Veiko Spolītis gave an overview of Latvia's President Edgars Rinkēvičs's career and presidential role in the Latvian political landscape.

According to Spolītis, Rinkēvičs worked as a radio journalist at Radio Free Europe in his youth, after which he began a career as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence. He later became President Valdis Zatlers's chief of staff and subsequently foreign minister, a position he held for almost 12 years. In 2023 he was elected President of Latvia.

Constructive role in foreign policy

When asked whether Rinkēvičs is accused of excessive involvement in foreign policy, Spolītis answered in the negative. In comparison with former president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, he noted that Rinkēvičs does not attract such accusations. "Rinkēvičs knows how to respect his constitutional limits of power and has acted constructively so far," said Spolītis.

Presidential election system

In discussing Latvia's presidential election system, Spolītis pointed out that Latvia's history has seen several prolonged rounds of voting. Unlike Estonia, however, Latvia lacks an electoral college-like institution to support presidential elections.

Spolītis noted that Latvia also has supporters of strong-handed politics, and the topic of direct presidential elections keeps coming up there. Since this would require constitutional amendment, which is a complicated process, no political party has yet come forward with such an initiative in any serious way.

Envy over islands

On the subject of Ruhnu Island, Spolītis remarked with a smile that Latvians are somewhat envious, Estonians have over a thousand islands, while Latvians have essentially none, except for the artificial islands near Kolka.