The inclusion of topics of national importance into his New Year’s speech to the nation is an indication that Latvia’s President Egils Levits has started thinking about his re-election this summer, says politologist and public relations specialist Filips Rajevskis.
He believes the president has been thinking about his re-election for some time, and the end of the year speech was part of his plan to reinforce his image in the eyes of his main electorate, which is likely the National Alliance (NA). It was this party that picked him for the post of president in 2019.
«Perhaps this is why he has started talking about national topics – to reach out to the voters represented by NA in the parliament. I wouldn’t say votes in the parliament is a direct problem for Levits.»
The problem is that he is not popular among residents. This means he has no access to the necessary number of votes in the parliament, explained the politologist.
According to Rajevskis, if Levits was popular among residents, he would have nothing to worry about, because Saeima deputies generally reflect residents’ opinions when picking officials. The topic of whether or not what Levits said was what residents wanted to hear remains open, added the expert.
He said the speeches read by Levits and PM Krišjānis Kariņš were too general. In the president’s case, this is understandable because he has no political power, which means his speech can be abstract. However, he still needs to demonstrate the ability to understand people.
«During his speech, Levits represents Latvia’s society. He needed to create the impression that people are heard. What is one of the reasons why people read mass media articles? This way they gain a sense of recognition of their opinions. People associate themselves that. We have to ask how many people the president was able to emotionally move with his speech so that people are able to say later on – yes, the president and I are similarly minded; yes, he has heard me. I don’t think there are many people like that this New Year’s eve, because Levits is not a «people’s president» and his speech was not a «people’s president’s» speech,» said the politologist.
As for the PM, Rajevskis said he used words and terminology from the government declaration in his New Year’s speech.
He used simple words to retell the contents of the declaration. The politologist said that, when reading the declaration, you can tell the PM played the same notes society wanted to hear from the government. However, complicated terms, such as «economic transformation» were used as though a mantra even though residents expected a different take on topics that are fundamental and complicated.
«People expect everything that happens around them to promote a sense of security. When a person feels safe and confident, a great many problems can be resolved in a country. People will be ready to work here, pay taxes, create families and have children. This topics was not mentioned at all in the speech. Instead the official talked about abstract transformation, which will never happen as long as people continue studying and living abroad without coming back,» said Rajevskis.
He believes Kariņš spoke primitively of the security dimension, failing to convince residents Latvia can overcome external crises. The politologist believes its is not easy to talk about just how much defence will be reinforced in the future. According to Rajevskis, this process commenced in 2014 and so far the results are Latvia’s army is stronger, better equipped, and there are more people in the National Guard.
The politologist also said the topic of demography is complicated, and its discussion is a matter of security – if people don’t feel confident that they will receive normal healthcare, there won’t be more children. According to Rajevskis, Kariņš did not expand the security dimension, rather he narrowed it by mentioning NATO and military security.
«NATO and military security is a small part of making us the strong country Kariņš mentioned. The PM should have said, perhaps, that we are prepared and continue preparing for war by procuring arms and other necessary equipment. But whether we are stronger and safer – the PM did not say,» said Rajevskis.
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