Good evening. I’m Buck Valor, and welcome to another episode of 'The Math Still Works.' Over in Riga, the Saeima—Latvia's premiere venue for expensive suits and cheap rhetoric—spent the day engaged in that grand democratic tradition: the performance of the Foregone Conclusion.

The opposition tabled a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Evika Siliņa. And, in a plot twist that shocked absolutely no one with access to a basic calculator, she survived. To call it a 'survival' suggests there was some actual peril involved, like escaping a burning building or a conversation with a door-to-door insurance salesman. In reality, it was just the coalition doing what coalitions do: clinging to each other like drowning men who have suddenly realized they are actually standing in a kiddie pool.

The opposition, led by a collection of people whose primary qualification is 'not being in charge right now,' cited the usual laundry list of grievances. They’re upset about the economy, the rail projects, the sluggishness of the bureaucracy, and probably the fact that the sun sets too early in the winter. They knew they didn't have the numbers. They knew the outcome before they even straightened their ties in the morning. But in the world of performative politics, being right is far less important than being loud while being wrong. It’s about the optics—the chance to stand at a podium and look grave for the evening news.

Siliņa, for her part, played the role of the stoic leader under fire with practiced ease. It’s a great look for the cameras—the embattled premier standing firm against the tides of chaos. Never mind that the 'tide' was a lukewarm puddle. Now that the tally is in, everyone gets to go home, claim they fought the good fight for the 'soul of the nation,' and the taxpayers of Latvia get to foot the bill for an afternoon of professional-grade bickering that changed exactly nothing.

So, the status quo remains perfectly intact. Siliņa is still in the big chair, the opposition still has fresh clips for their social media feeds, and the actual, grinding problems facing the country are pushed to the back burner to make room for more theater. It’s not governance; it’s a long-running soap opera where the writers have clearly run out of ideas. Stay cynical, folks. It’s the only way to stay sane.