International members of the European Parliament meeting in the Latvian capital signalled their support Thursday for Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis ahead of the country's October 2 general elections, praising his efforts to turn around the country's economy, DPA reported.
The meeting of the European People's Party (EPP), which joins centre-right political forces from across the European Union, held Dombrovskis up as an example to other EU member states.
"I hope the citizens of Latvia will express their gratitude. That's what we're here for - to support you ahead of the second of October," EPP leader Joseph Daul said, referring to Dombrovskis.
The Latvian economy contracted by 4.6 per cent in 2008 and 18 per cent in 2009. Since coming to power in March of last year, Dombrovskis has proven effective in stabilizing the situation by introducing tough austerity measures.
Public sector wage cuts of about 30 percent and large-scale layoffs were implemented to meet the terms of a 7.5-billion-euro (9.6 billion dollars) bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), EU and other lenders.
The measures have hit ordinary Latvians hard and Dombrovskis warned that his re-election was far from certain.
"As elections are approaching, some parties are making populist statements about challenging international lenders and ending the so- called financial occupation of Latvia. It's a cheap line and especially embarrassing given that its coming mainly from those who were responsible for creating the financial mess in the first place," Dombrovskis said.
"The only alternative to this international loan programme comes from the east, and this is not the right direction for Latvia to take," he said, referring to the strongly pro-Russian stance of his main rivals for power.
