IS LATVIA IN BIG TROUBLE?

Last week a university lecturer in Latvia was arrested by the police for talking down the economy. Speaking your mind is still not a free sport in this democracy. I can quite accept this if is he intended to benefit financially by his actions but it looks as though he merely felt he had to tell his version of the truth. Still there are more twists and turns in this country than a formula one circuit, so it would not surprise me if he does not turn out to be the brother in law of the head of the stock exchange or something. But it is a warning that I must not say anything naughty in my Blogs about the Lat.



My friend was made unemployed last week. She went to the unemployment office yesterday. Apparently the Government has removed 2.5million Lats from the budget of that organisation so they had fired some of their staff. There were not enough people there to process those applying and the awful rumour went around that there would not even be enough money to pay the legal payments. Now that would be interesting. It must be a strange feeling losing your job and then queuing to ask a former colleague for money.


The Government has gone cap in hand to the EU for a figure reportedly to be about 5Bn Euro (although one rumour says 13Bn). That would be half the GDP for this year. It is probably needed but it is hard to see how it can be paid back in a hurry. But it makes Gordon Browns efforts in UK seem cheap by comparison. That much money would be a lot more to waste on expensive and inefficient latvian government building projects.


Another friend of mine got the sack this morning. He was quite good at his job but the company are restructuring - that is Latvian for sacking people to save money - and he just happened to draw the short straw. At 28 he is mortified that his previously upward career has suddenly taken a sharp downward move. But he is sharp enough to move on quickly. Many of those I interview for work are Post Soviet followers by training and inclination and simply without any initiative. I am trying to find a shop manager with drive and it is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack

Other evidence of recession is still hard to guage. In many of the shops, the lonely shopgirl stands alone waiting for the weekly customer, but this was always so in Riga. Most shops simply charge far too much for their goods and the items are just not worth it. Better to fly Ryanair to UK and shop in Bishops Stortford. In one of the expensive shops on saturday there were still plenty of active and rich looking women. But this may just be them shopping hard before husband says - enough Olga, we are poor too now too. Our driver is poor, our maid is poor etc etc. In the supermarkets the shopping baskets are still full and there seems little inclination to cut family costs. Many people are still eating out at lunchtime. I watch carefully for signs of change in Chilli Pizza .

I have had a welcoming amount of comments about my previous Blog and without exception they have been supportive about my stand for the law to apply fairly and evenly. We shall see if it ever causes change. Somehow I doubt it will happen soon.

Anyway, off to edit an article on Latvia - Russia relations for Artis Pabriks former Foreign Minister. Then I must do some paying work.....