RIGA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- After more than a week of negotiations which followed the Oct. 6 parliamentary elections, Latvia's political parties still have not come to an agreement on the formation of the Baltic country's next government coalition, local media reported Wednesday.
President Raimonds Vejonis, who has to designate Latvia's next prime minister, is about to begin formal consultations on Thursday with the political parties that have won mandates in the new parliament.
Meanwhile, none of the parties currently involved in talks on a new coalition has accepted the five-way coalition model proposed by the New Conservative Party, which assumed the leading role in the negotiations.
Last Friday, the New Conservative Party offered to distribute ministerial portfolios among five political parties, leaving two parties in opposition.
Janis Bordans, the New Conservative Party leader, said he had invited political newcomer KPV LV, liberal alliance For Development/For, right-wing National Alliance and center-right New Unity to join his would-be government.
On Wednesday, KPV LV co-chairman Artuss Kaimins called the New Conservative Party's proposal too hasty, saying it was first necessary to agree on the next government's main tasks and objectives.
Representatives of For Development/For rejected the New Conservative Party's proposal on Monday and said it was planning talks among six potential coalition partners, including the Greens and Farmers Union, the leader of Latvia's current center-right coalition.
Raivis Dzintars, the leader of the National Alliance, said on Wednesday that given the position expressed by For Development/For, forming a government in accordance with the New Conservative Party's proposals seemed impossible at this point.
New Unity, the fourth party invited by the New Conservative Party to its would-be coalition, also voiced a skeptical opinion about the New Conservative Party's proposal. New Unity chairman Krisjanis Karins said there were still too many uncertainties and unanswered questions.
It is necessary to reach an agreement on the new government's plans and objectives before discussing the individuals who might implement these plans, the New Unity chairman said.
