Once poor Ireland envied by Latvia

A generation ago, the the standard of living in Ireland was maybe lowest in Western Europe.

As the fictional bandleader Jimmy Rabbitte quipped in the film The Commitments, "The Irish are the blacks of Europe."

Fast forward the tape to 2006. Ireland is now the Celtic Tiger, and Latvia wants to be the next Ireland.

From the Baltic Times:

In an ambitious effort to gain the favor of voters, the alliance of Latvia’s First and Latvia’s Way (My note: two political parties) announced a bold goal – to raise Latvia’s living standards to the level of Ireland within 10 years and increase the average salary to at least 500 lats (711 euros) in half that time. Speaking at a political forum on May 21, chairman of Latvia’s Way Ivars Godmanis said the alliance strove to achieve the "general prosperity of the nation, which is what people expect from politicians."

A Celtic Tiger in every pot could be their slogan.

Technorati tags: Ireland Irish
Latvia Latvija Politics