In a nation too young to have many traditions and too polyglot to agree on much of anything, hockey is the great unifying force, and marching on rival teams' embassies a hallowed tradition for, oh, at least a couple of years now. Thirteen months ago, in the midst of debate over a no-confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Andris Skele, the Parliament called a recess, and the entire chamber Mr. Skele included sat down to watch the national team play Russia in the World Ice Hockey Championships. After the game, they convened again and voted to oust Mr. Skele. Then again, that is small potatoes compared with the economics minister, Aigars Kalvitis, who faced a no- confidence vote this month over his role in the privatization of a government shipping company. Latvians some 8,000 of them were voted the loudest fans at the Cologne games.
Hockey is the language of politics.
And the speaker of the Parliament lamented this month that Latvians have become so disillusioned by cutthroat politics and fiscal hardship that the only time they feel patriotic and unified is during a hockey game. A lot of people think that may be why Latvians have embraced hockey with such ardor. While things are looking up, average income here has yet to climb back to the level of 1989, two years before Latvia achieved independence from the Soviet Union. The political unity that prevailed back then has dissipated into feuding leftist and rightist factions and a distinct coolness between native Latvians and the Russian emigrants who make up a third of the population. A lot of people are disappointed that things haven't gone along as well as they should have.