Riga Mayor Andris Berzins has emerged as the clear frontrunner to become the next prime minister after Latvia's three largest parties all declared that he should replace outgoing Prime Minister Andris Skele.

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga must formally nominate Berzins, and she's expected to follow the lead of the three parties. But she also made some parliamentary leaders nervous by not immediately declaring her support for the Riga mayor. Skele, of the People's Party, resigned the week before after Latvia's Way and the right-wing Fatherland and Freedom said they could no longer support the three-party coalition government if he remained at the helm. Skele was seen as abrasive and domineering, and his sacking this month of Economics Minister Vladimirs Makarovs, a Fatherland member, over disagreements about privatization was the last straw for his coalition partners. Berzins, a 48-year-old former history teacher, has won praise as mayor for reviving the capital's business district. He is considered easy-going and a good team player, and many politicians see him as an antidote to the dour, uncommunicative Skele. Latvia's 100-seat, six-party parliament is badly fragmented, making it tough to hammer together workable coalitions. The next government will be Latvia's ninth in nine years, though all the different administrations have agreed widely on the country's pro-reform, pro-West policies.