Riga, 14 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Latvia's Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš has announced his resignation on Monday in the wake of a planned government reshuffle following his failed attempt to form a new government.

Kariņš lead the country, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO, since 2019. He said in the capital Riga that he would submit his resignation to President Edgars Rinkēvičs on Thursday.

Kariņš said that he had asked his liberal-conservative party Jaunā Vienotība to propose a new candidate for the head of government, since he does not want to stay in office.

Kariņš led a three-party alliance of his Jaunā Vienotība with the national-conservative National Alliance and the centrist-conservative United List electoral alliance in the Baltic Sea state bordering Russia.

Due to disagreements within the coalition, the 58-year-old announced on Friday that he wanted to form a new administration with the participation of two opposition parties - without resigning. This caused controversy because under Latvia's constitution, the president nominates the head of government.

Kariņš has been pushing for some time to expand the existing coalition to include the Alliance of Farmers and Greens, and the left-leaning Progressives. By doing so, he says he wants to make government work more smoothly and effectively.

But his current coalition partners rejected the plan. "We need to find a way to put aside petty differences and create a broader, stronger and more dynamic government," Kariņš said at a press conference on Monday.

According to Latvia's constitution, the resignation of the head of government automatically leads to that of the entire Council of Ministers. However the sitting prime minister remains in office until a new government is confirmed.

Photo: EPA