Apzinīgs pilsonis

Labs darbiņš, kas padarīts! :)

Vakar ar četriem amsterdamiešiem, kam ir Latvijas pase, devāmies uz Hāgu balsot Saeimas ārkārtas vēlēšanās.

Ierodoties tur ap 12pm, uzzinājām, ka esam ~30-40ie balsotāji. Tie, kas nobalsoja pēcpusdienā, teica, ka esot nobalsojuši jau vairāk nekā 200 cilvēki. Interesanti zināk, cik tad bija beigās? Vēstniecība lēšot, ka oficiāli valstī dzīvo 2500 mūsējo (tie, kas to norādījuši PMLP), neoficiāli kopējais skaits varētu būt ap 4-5 tūkstoši.

Lai nu kā, diena pagāja zem Latvijas zvaigznes. Kopīgi ieēstas pusdienas, kopīgi iedzerti aliņi/vīni un iepazīti Hāgas bāri. Domāju, ka satiku ap 20 latviešus, no kuriem ar vismaz 12 sēdēju pie viena galda un spriedu par dzīvi šeit, par trīslitrīgajiem mašīnu motoriem, par valodu fetišu, par prezidentālu republiku, par Maltu un par kopējām paziņām.

Pēc tik daudzām kopīgi pavadītām stundām un secinājumiem, ka vajag tikties atkal, ir skaidrs, ka šie plāni tiks realizēti jau drīz - par to jau liecina jaunizveidotā grupa sociālajos tīklos. Latvieši iekaro Nīderlandi vēl vairāk!

Saeimas vēlēšanas

Šodien saņēmu e-pastu no Latvijas vēstniecības Nīderlandē, ko vienkārši nedrīkstu paturēt tikai sev. Izbaudiet arī jūs! :)

"Tautieši!

Mēs esam sena tauta – un mēs esam viņai parādā!

Ārzemēs dzīvo vairāk kā divi simti tūkstošu Latvijas pilsoņu. Mēs nevaram vēl tautu “savest mājās pie Daugavas krastiem” bet varam katrs tomēr piedalīties valsts attīstībā - 17. septembrī!

Varbūt arī Tu dzīvo starp divām saulēm ar kājām vienā zemē un sirdi Latvijā? Arī Tu vari palīdzēt Latvijai 17. septembrī, ejot balsot. Katra pilsoņa līdzdalība ir svarīga Latvijai, jo sliktus deputātus ievēl labi pilsoņi, kas nepiedalās vēlēšanās. To mūsu zeme vairs nevar atļauties."

E-pastu papildināja daži tiešām labi video, tostarp šis:

New president's private life

Probably foreigners have not heard about it yet, but some days ago Latvian parliament elected a new president (yes, it's elected by the parliament, not the citizens).

The new president Andris Bērziņš will start his term on July 7, but already now mass media are writing about it like crazy. Just pity that mostly it's about his private life, not his plans for the next four years and his professional experience...

Apart from the fact that Andris Bērziņš is one of the most common names and surnames in Latvia (and we even had 2-3 other politicians who are called exactly the same, including a former prime minister), there are also some other interesting details.

For me the most interesting part is the fact that mass media are very much eager to cover two aspects of Mr Future President life:

1) His partner who is ~25 years younger than him and not married with him. They have been living together for almost 10 years (if I am not wrong) and have a kid, but they are not married. One can read in Latvian news portals opinions of various "specialists" who are saying something like "OMG, how is it possible? What will happen when he needs to go abroad on a visit? Will he take his partner with him or no? What is her official status and how should we call her?"

2) His children. Apparently all government officials need to fill out declaration every year stating how many children do they have (don't ask me why) and Andris Bērziņš have written down that he has three children (also from his previous marriage). However, there are rumors that he might have 1-2 children more he has not mentioned in the declaration, although it seems like he has been paying money to them every month. The media are not yet revealing the names of those poor kids (who seem to be in their 20ies or so), but yelling about him not telling the real number of his children.

Well, the point 1 is ridiculous and point 2 might be important if he would not care about his children and do not bare any financial responsibility - but it seems that he is doing so.

So... How is it possible that mass media are writing so much about his private life and nothing about his professional one? Are they too lazy to find information or there is no information? Is it more interesting for them to dig in his past without thinking how relevant it is? Or are they simply looking for celebrity scandals instead of analyzing him as a president?

Usually I do not care about politics and I have no idea how good or bad president will Andris Bērziņš be, but I believe that everybody's personal life is their own business.

Thanks to Google for his picture!