A day after six Jaunais laiks (New Era) ministers quit the government led by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis, Latvia’s parliament moved quickly to express its confidence in their replacements.

The 46-34 vote April 8 shored up Kalvītis’ minority coalition government.

In all, seven ministers were approved in the extraordinary meeting of the Saeima, including Krišjānis Peters, who is the new minister of communications. Peters, a member of the conservative Latvijas Pirmā partija (First Party of Latvia, or LPP), replaces Ainārs Šlesers.

Šlesers, a leader of LPP, became embroiled in controversy and a public dispute with Einars Repše, leader of the conservative Jaunais laiks, which accused Šlesers of trying to influence an election in the resort city of Jūrmala and of misuse of the country’s road fund. Šlesers resigned as communications minister on March 15.

Jaunais laiks, one of four parties that made up the conservative majority government, continued pressure on Kalvītis over the presence of LPP in the coalition. On April 6, Jaunais laiks announced it was quitting the coalition.

In addition to Peters, new faces in the government are Atis Slakteris, a member of Tautas partija (People’s Party), minister of defense; Aigars Štokenbergs, an adviser to Kalvītis, minister of economics; Guntars Grīnvalds, a member of LPP, minister of justice; Baiba Rivža, a member of Zaļo un zemnieku savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers), minister of education and science; Ina Gudele, special assignments minister for electronic government affairs, and Karina Pētersone, a member of Latvijas Ceļš (Latvia’s Way) and a former minister of culture, special assignments minister for society integration affairs.

Ninety of the Saeima’s 100 members voted, including 10 who abstained.

The new minority coalition controls 45 votes in the parliament.

Latvia’s coalition government has been thrown into a crisis after six ministers, all members of the conservative Jaunais laiks (New Era) political party, quit April 7.

Einars Repše, leader of Jaunais laiks, announced April 6 that the party was leaving the government in protest over what it sees as the illegal and undemocratic practices of coalition partner Latvijas Pirmā partija (First Party of Latvia, or LPP) and especially of one of its leaders, Ainārs Šlesers.

Jaunais laiks has accused Šlesers of corruption for trying to influence the election of the head of the city council in the resort city of Jūrmala, a charge that LPP denies. Jaunais laiks also accused Šlesers, formerly the minister of communications, of illegal activities in disbursing money from Latvia’s road fund.

The rift in the government came even as President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga issued a statement April 6 calling for a reasoned approach to resolving differences among the four partners in the coalition. She said that recent accusations of corruption, incompetence and unprofessionalism could be dealt with on an individual basis and through existing state institutions, rather than leading to destabilizing the government itself.

The ministers who resigned are Solvita Āboltiņa, minister of justice; Ina Druviete, minister of education and science; Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, minister of economics; Ainars Latkovskis, special assignments minister for society integration affairs; Linda Mūrniece, minister of defense, and Jānis Reirs, special assignments minister for electronic government affairs. Their duties temporarily will be handled by other ministers.

The coalition government has been in power since December 2004. Led by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis, it also includes ministers from two other conservative parties, Tautas partija (People’s Party) and Zaļo un zemnieku savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers, or ZZS).

With the departure of Jaunais laiks from the coalition, Kalvītis is now in charge of a minority government. Political observers in Latvia are questioning whether the government will be able to last until the next parliamentary election, which is scheduled Oct. 7.

In its first foray into Eastern Europe, a Turkish hotel chain has announced plans to develop a 500-room hotel and convention center in the Latvian seaside resort of Jūrmala.

The Istanbul-based Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International expects to open the Resort Dedeman Jurmala in 2007, the company announced in a press release. The hotel is to include a casino, night club, spa, ice skating, tennis courts, two restaurants and a café.

The hotel also is to have a 1,000-person ballroom and a 100-person concert hall, which the company said will help position the property for convention tourism.

Dedeman began in Ankara, Turkey, in 1966. The company owns 16 hotels, three of them outside Turkey. The Jūrmala property is one of four new properties Dedeman is developing.

Jūrmala, a historical resort area on the Gulf of Rīga, is home to a number of hotels already, including properties such as the 165-room Baltic Beach Hotel, the 120-room Daina, the 40-room Eiropa Hotel, the 38-room Pegasa Pils, and the 16-room Villa Joma.