I hope the former Harmony representatives in Daugavpils City Council took the risks seriously when evaluating the decision by Daugavpils City Council Chairman Andrejs Elksniņš’s to leave our party, said Harmony political party leader Jānis Urbanovičs.
The politician refused to comment on the decision by Daugavpils City Council members to leave the ranks of his party. He wished them luck and said he hopes the people who left the party weighed the pros and cons correctly. Urbanovičs reminded that approximately 20 years ago Daugavpils regional party decided to join Harmony, but now municipal deputies have decided to go independent again.
Because several years ago Elksniņš had mentioned the possibility of forming his own political organisation, Urbanovičs says the decision by the chairman of Daugavpils City Council to abandon Harmony was not a surprise:
«This was no secret to me or anyone else. It’s not like we were waiting for it, but this moment has come.»
As it is known, Elksniņš and many other former Harmony members and all deputies elected from this party to Daugavpils City Council have decided to leave the party and move towards founding a new political organisation.
More on this topic: Mayor of Daugavpils decides to found regional party; abandons Harmony
Politologist and public relations specialist Filips Rajevskis explains that this decision was expected, as Harmony has decided to follow the path that lets it stay with Latvia.
He noted that Harmony respects the values held dear by Latvia, as well as European values, including the position in regards to the situation in Ukraine, the war and Russia.
«In their video and public performances Elksniņš and Rezekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartaševičs made their opinions about the events in Ukraine and Russia’s place in them very clear. They also doubted Latvia’s position and values as a member state of NATO and EU,» said Rajevskis.
At the same time, the politologist said «in a short period of time Harmony has lost two major cities, which is a tactical loss from a political viewpoint. Nevertheless,
Harmony has won strategically by showing they do not have people who are under investigation by VDD.
Otherwise the party would have to explain and apologise why there are such people in the party and why they are hostile towards Latvia».
Commenting on Bartaševičs’ actions, Rajevskis said the trajectory he is headed for is similar to that of Elksniņš – Bartaševičs may leave the party because his views are similar to those held by Elksniņš: both voice proposals for neutrality and talks with Russia.
After losing the seat of the Mayor of Riga and the departure of the city’s former mayor Nils Ušakovs to work in the European Parliament started a chain of complications, which only increased following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The party condemned Russia’s actions on day one. This step distanced the party from its supporters and caused complications on the inside.
With a long period of low popularity, the party failed to secure enough voters to enter the 14th Saeima. This resulted in Harmony being absent from the new Saeima. Harmony also lost municipalities in which its members have historically been in charge – Daugavpils and Rezekne.