(Adnkronos) – Latvia returns to the polls tomorrow, October 3, in a vote dominated by the war in Ukraine, fears for national security, and the growing rift between the ethnic Latvian majority and the Russian-speaking minority. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, 47, a former racing driver and staunch supporter of Kyiv, aims to remain at the helm of the government after coming to power last May, when the previous coalition collapsed following controversies over the management of some Ukrainian military drones that entered Latvian airspace undetected. “The war in Ukraine has divided our society. Many people do not share the same vision,” acknowledged Kulbergs, who during the campaign promised “unwavering support for Ukraine” and increased anti-drone capabilities. “A significant part of society does not perceive Russia as a threat and does not understand why the government is investing so much money in defense. They are wrong,” he assured.
Kulbergs’ centrist United List (As) leads the polls with 14.4% of the vote, but the formation of the next government promises to be complicated, with seven parties potentially able to enter the Saeima, the Latvian Parliament. In second place, with 9.4%, is the populist and sovereignist formation Sovereign Power/Young Latvians (Sv/Jl), which gathers a significant share of the Russian-speaking minority’s vote and proposes to stop military aid to Ukraine. Leader Julia Stepanenko remained ambiguous about supporting economic sanctions against Moscow: “Our voters want peace.” Latvia First follows, at around 9.2%, another populist formation that has attracted a portion of the electorate more favorable to Moscow by promising to mend the rift between Latvians and Russian-speakers.
The war in Ukraine and related foreign policy choices have polarized the country of just 1.9 million inhabitants, a member of NATO and the European Union bordering Russia and Belarus. Policies introduced after the Russian invasion to reduce Moscow’s influence in public life have fueled discontent among a part of the Russian-speaking community, while the traditional formations that represented their interests have gone into crisis and some of their votes have shifted towards populist parties. Tomorrow’s result could open a complex phase of negotiations: some of Kulbergs’ current allies are hovering around the electoral threshold, and the possibility of rebuilding a majority will depend on which forces manage to enter Parliament.
