Budget, Direct Speech, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Transport

Argalis believes that current Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs (Harmony Center) is running the Riga City Council so as to be popular with residents – "the social program is executed excellently, however, Riga's prospects are very poor."

"I could be wrong, however, I believe that Riga will go bankrupt in one-and-a-half to two years, unless transport subsidies and social support programs are reduced. After one-and-a-half or two years, Riga will have to begin making high interest payments on several loans, and it is unlikely that properties that are currently put up for sale will be sold very successfully. Riga budget revenue is also unlikely to increase, therefore I believe that there will be major problems," Argalis said.

"The political developments will be ruthless: I believe that Harmony will not come to power for at least the next four years. Riga will become insolvent in two years, the government will put forward an administrator, and the government will be the one to force residents of Riga to tighten their belts. Meanwhile, the people who are currently running the Riga City Council will be able to say – see, we were the good ones, the government is bad," Argalis speculated.

Argalis believes that Usakovs is not "the person who has the potential to save the country". "He is incapable of that – in my opinion he is just a journalist who was shaped by the environment and PR, and major municipal funds have been spent to create his image," Argalis said, adding that the only person who has the potential to save the country is Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs – "small in build, but tough like the devil."