RIGA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The leader of Latvia's center-right New Unity party is likely to become the Baltic country's next prime minister as five political parties appeared ready to strike a deal on the new coalition, local media reported on Thursday.

Previously, New Unity, the liberal alliance For Development/For, the New Conservative Party and the right-wing National Alliance had agreed to form a core of the would-be coalition government, which would have 50 votes in Latvia's 100-seat parliament.

KPV LV party, seen as the fifth potential partner, initially refused to join the coalition unless their representative Aldis Gobzems was given the post of interior minister. Krisjanis Karins, the candidate for prime minister from New Unity, was categorically against making Gobzems a cabinet minister.

On Thursday, however, Gobzems withdrew his candidacy for interior minister and KPV LV party said it would join the Karins-led government on several conditions, including that New Unity does not propose any other candidate for prime minister than Karins. KPV LV also wants to secure several parliamentary posts and is against creation of new ministries.

New Unity and For Development/For said on Thursday that they could accept these demands, and the New Conservative Party and the National Alliance did not seem inclined to reject them either.

The office of President Raimonds Vejonis informed that the president would meet with representatives of the five potential coalition partners on Friday and that he expected the parties to propose a candidate for prime minister that would have majority support in the parliament. Enditem

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