Latvia suffers some pain.

The BBC's Mark Mardell takes a look at the damage that the economy is doing on the Latvian government of Ivars Godmanis.

He has narrowly survived a vote of confidence after telling fellow MP's that

getting rid of him and his coalition wouldn't solve Latvia's economic problems.

Those problems,as for many former Soviet bloc countries are severe.The country is currently the 6th biggest donor to the IMF yet only three years ago its economy was growing at 12 per cent per year.Much of this growth related to the Latvian banks taking deposits from foreigners and investing them in a over inflating property market.

Now the international community is trying to keep the national currency the Lat afloat.It is a controversial move because the best solution may well ahve been devaluation of conversation to the euro.This solution was rejected as it may well have tipped other Eastern European countries currencies over the edge.

Instead the country faces tax rises,public and private pay cuts and up to a 5 per cent contraction in GDP.