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LatviaVictory of the pro-Western parties, rout of the Russian speakers
In Latvia, the formation of Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins leads the legislative elections. All he has to do is form a coalition. Without the support of the parties supported by the Russian community.
New Unity, the centrist party of outgoing Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, won the Latvian legislative elections on Saturday, with nearly 19% of the vote.
REUTERS
The centrist party of outgoing Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins won the Latvian legislative elections on Saturday, according to partial results covering 96% of polling stations, while parties close to the Russian minority came out weakened. New Unity won 18.94% of the vote, while only one party supported by the Russian-speaking minority, Stability, crossed the eligibility threshold (set at 5%) with 6.75%, and the historic formation of Russian speakers, Harmony, once powerful, finds itself outside the parliament, as does the Latvian Union of Russians (pro-Kremlin).
The Union of Greens and Peasants (centrist and social democrat) comes in second place, with 12.66%, followed by the United List (Greens and regional parties, centrists, 10.98%), the National Alliance (center right, 9.31%) and Stability! (of populist tendency, 6.75%). Another populist party, Latvia first, the Progressives (social democratic left) and Development-FOR should also introduce a few deputies in the unicameral Parliament of one hundred seats.
The poll results bolster Krisjanis Karins’ chances of being formally tasked by President Egils Levits with forming the next government when the new parliament begins to function in the Baltic country of 1,000 in early November. 8 million inhabitants, member of the EU and NATO.
Common program
Krisjanis Karins told the LETA news agency that President Levits had invited the representatives of the parties entering parliament to a meeting on Monday. Then, he explained, talks to build a coalition will focus first on a common program and then, when defining the composition of the coalition, on the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
“Neither I, nor my government, nor my country react out of fear. We will continue to invest in our own defence, as a member state of NATO”
Without waiting for the announcement of the final official results, he gave some indications of his intentions. “New Unity will not enter into a coalition with the parties which seek their political orientations in Russia, nor will we collaborate with the Union of Greens and Peasants. Other options are open,” he told public television LTV1.
Oligarch “dismissed”
Previously, he considered that a possible participation of the Greens and peasants in his coalition would only be possible if this party broke with its ally, the oligarch and mayor of Ventspils, Aivars Lembergs, declaring that it would be impossible for him to collaborate with a person who opposed cooperation with NATO and who is accused of serious crimes.
Regarding the Russian threat, Krisjanis Karins said: “Neither I, nor my government, nor my country react out of fear. We will continue to invest in our own defence, as a NATO member state,” he added.
Harmony dropped by Russian speakers after condemning the invasion of Ukraine
The results also confirmed the decline of the social-democratic Harmony party, close to the Russian-speaking minority (30% of the population). Having regularly come out on top in the legislative elections for a decade, without ever finding an ally to govern, and having come close to 20% of the vote in 2018, Harmonie has since experienced a gradual fall, accentuated by corruption cases which made him lose the town hall. from Riga. Former Harmony leader and former mayor of Riga Nils Ushakovs, now an MEP, explained the poor result of his training by his condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“Harmonie had to make a choice between acting responsibly or playing populist with national security and state interests,” he told LETA news agency. “Some of our voters stayed home, others went to different new parties that represent a different geopolitical orientation.” This situation had divided the Russian-speaking electorate. For political scientist Marcis Krastins, “the Russians invading Ukraine helped Krisjanis Karins because, at such times, people tend to gather around the flag,” he said before the election.
(AFP)