Latvian Political Monitor

From@ecrgroup

🇱🇻 CONGRATULATIONS to Latvian member parties on remarkable election results! We applaud the Group’s Latvian political partners following the parliamentary election, with United List achieving a historic result and National Alliance maintaining a solid level of support. ECR Group Co-Chair @NProcaccini: “Latvian voters have sent a clear message that their country’s future lies firmly in the West. I warmly congratulate Andris Kulbergs and United List on this extraordinary and historic result. Andris led an exemplary, disciplined and convincing campaign that spoke directly to people’s expectations – security, economic growth and better prospects for Latvian citizens. This result can only be described as truly exceptional.” ECR Group Co-Chair @PatrykJaki: “Andris Kulbergs has achieved something truly remarkable because people clearly trust him. He is direct, approachable and close to the everyday concerns of Latvian citizens. Politics needs leaders who listen, speak plainly and remain connected to the people they represent. Andris has shown that this closeness to people can go hand in hand with an unequivocal commitment to Latvia’s place in the West.” National Alliance, Nacionālā apvienība “Visu Latvijai!” – “Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK”, achieved a solid and respectable result, broadly maintaining its previous level of support. The party is represented in the European Parliament by ECR MEP and European Parliament Vice-President Roberts Zīle and ECR MEP Rihards Kols. Procaccini said: “I also warmly congratulate Ilze Indriksone and our friends in National Alliance on a solid and very respectable result. They have remained consistent in defending Latvia’s national identity, strengthening its security and calling for more effective migration rules, while standing up for families and local communities.” Jaki said: “My congratulations also go to Ilze Indriksone and the whole National Alliance team. Voters know what this party stands for and know that it does not abandon its convictions when circumstances become difficult.”

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From@RaivisZeltits

Saeima election results are almost fully compiled. 1.3% of voters – about 11,000 votes – have voted for “Austošā Saule Latvijai” (ASL). This is not the result we set as our goal. That must be honestly admitted. The campaign will be evaluated and our work improved so as to improve the result in the future. At the same time, the result is not a “catastrophe.” It is respectable for a new party contesting its first election. It is more than impressive given the smallest advertising budget of all parties in this campaign – by a many-fold margin. It is a good result considering the absurd situation in which the public broadcaster denied us participation in most TV debates while giving a platform to pro-Kremlin parties. We have not finished this story yet, and we will seek solutions to remedy the injustice. From the bottom of my heart I thank every one of our voters – every vote was a vote of conscience, a vote for the values that unite us, a vote for the vision of a Latvian, safe and prosperous Latvia. You laid the strongest foundation for a future political force. You voted according to your own judgment and with the courage to go against the current. You did not vote for noise. Every voter of ours is someone we will continue to fight for, and we will also fight for the interests, dignity and honour of all Latvian and patriotic citizens, convincing them with our further work. Thank you to our party’s activists and candidates in these elections. At no point in this campaign did we betray our convictions, enter into compromises or seek the easier path, preserving the essence that we laid in our party’s foundations on 23 August last year. Preserving that essence is more important than quick external successes. Being a forge for the next Latvian political leaders is one of ASL’s tasks that goes beyond the electoral campaign framework. This campaign was a very intense political school for many of our party members. A leader’s greatest satisfaction is seeing others also realise leadership qualities in themselves – I had the opportunity to experience this many times. ASL continues its work. We will regroup, change tactics and move forward. The result of the vote does not change the fundamental values of our ideas and programme – it shows the current balance of forces and the ability to convince others. These are changeable factors arising both from the environment and from our own abilities. Working to raise our own capacities is one of a political party’s tasks, and we will continue that – for us, politics is a path and a calling, not a matter of a single election. As for external factors, there were several that influenced our result, but I will mention only a couple of the most important. First, the massive propaganda urging people “not to throw away their vote” on new parties. The “lesser evil” principle still works. Combined with the ban on participating in most debates, we ended up with an unfair field of play, while experts hypocritically mumbled about the value of democracy and civic engagement. Second, the extremely great disappointment in politics in general. The credit of trust that the people gave to the authorities after the divisive Covid-19 era in 2022 under war conditions was squandered. The lowest voter turnout ever is entirely the responsibility of “Jaunā Vienotība.” But the disappointment is not only in them, but in politicians in general. We felt it absolutely everywhere we went during the agitation. In this situation, from a public relations perspective, “Apvienotais saraksts” and Andris Kulbergs showed themselves excellently, positioning themselves, while being in power, as opposition figures close to the people and “surprised” by all sorts of troubles. Together with a huge campaign budget, this worked and the result is unprecedented – the 35% result “sucked the oxygen” out of the other Latvian parties, leaving very many below the line or with a significantly smaller result. Except for the pro-Kremlin parties, which have an ethnic electorate. But ASL does not look at public relations, but at deeds and substance. We see no significant change of political course since the time when “Jaunā Vienotība” led the state. Not even better work – I remind you that one of Kulbergs’ priorities was ensuring quality elections, which, of course, was again on the verge of failure. In power is, and most likely will remain, a centrist liberal and pro-immigration party without real values. A party whose policy consequences will become increasingly visible even to those Latvians who did not yet see them during Kulbergs’ short government before the elections. The awakening after the noise of the campaign may be unpleasant. But it is inevitable and will make people listen to our words anew, reassessing their choices.

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