Andris Berzins, a hard-pressed Latvian

摘要

Being prime minister of Latvia is a precarious job—just as being a Latvian is a precarious existence. Andris Berzins, the latest man in the hot seat, will be doing better than average if his government survives a full year. And if Latvia, which regained its independence in 1991, survives another decade, it will be the longest period of freedom it has ever enjoyed. Whether Mr Berzins can create a good government out of Latvia's fractious and scandal-ridden politics matters elsewhere too. His small country—it is about the size of Ireland—is in the middle of a complicated but unusually promising bit of post-communist Europe. A stable Latvia, with borders open for trade and closed to crime, would be a welcome link between the rich Nordic countries to the north and the poorer ex-communist states of Eastern Europe. Some of its success might even infect western parts of Russia.