While I was away...

Ivars Godmanis became the Prime Minister of Latvia, completing the biggest political comeback in post-independence Latvia. He was the Prime Minister once before, from 1990 to 1993. That time, he left the office deeply unpopular. Before the 1993 elections, he was abandoned by most of his political allies who let him take the plame for the economic difficulties of post-Soviet Latvia. Godmanis-lead Popular Front (Tautas Fronte) went from a two-thirds majority in 1990 to 2.62% of popular vote in 1993. It looked like his political career was finished for good.

Godmanis spent some time as a manager in various companies. He then attempted to come back to politics with Latvian Way party... which soon lost all its seats in the parliament in the 2002 election and was abandoned by many of its most prominent members, just like Popular Front was abandoned in 1993. Once again, Godmanis looked like washed-up politician whose time has passed.

Then, Latvian Way merged with another struggling party, Latvia First Party. Together, they managed to get into the parliament in 2006. Godmanis became the minister of interior affairs. Back in the government, he looked reasonably competent. And, when Kalvitis' government fall in the flames of public anger, Godmanis emerged as the person to lead the new government.

We don't know what happened behind the scenes but some journalists were mentioning Godmanis as a candidate long before he was nominated. I saw a newsmagazine predicting Godmanis' nomination on October 17, a day before the famous protest against Loskutovs firing. That was almost a month before Kalvitis officially resigned. Some Latvian journalists have very good sources...

Economically, the slowdown continues. Consumer confidence index has fallen below 50% for the first time. The slowdown is not affecting anyone around me yet, though.

And Latvian U-20 ice hockey team has qualified for next year's top-division World Championships, by winning this year's Division 1B championships. Very good, our adult team needs some good younger players.