Latvia's PM resigns after 54 killed in supermarket collapse
Published:Wednesday | November 27, 2013 | 11:14 AM
RIGA, Latvia (AP):
Latvia's Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, resigned today in the wake of supermarket collapse that killed 54 people and provoked outrage among the Baltic country's citizens.
Dombrovskis' unexpected announcement, which automatically triggers the fall of the entire center-right government, followed his meeting with President Andris Berzins.
"Considering the ... tragedy and all the related circumstances, the country needs a government that has a majority support in parliament and can solve the situation that has arisen in the country," Dombrovskis told journalists after meeting the president.
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the cause of last week's tragedy.
Possible explanations for the disaster include a flawed design, substandard construction materials, and corruption.
Some people have suggested that the abolition of a construction authority by Dombrovskis' budget-slashing government weakened oversight.
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