Ainārs Šlesers’ Latvia First (LPV) is among the parties that do not have to worry about entering the 15th Saeima. In the September SKDS poll, 9.2% of surveyed Latvian citizens said they would vote for LPV. This is the third-highest result, behind the United List and Sovereign Power/Young Latvians. Equally important is the fact that LPV has candidates capable of appealing to different groups of voters. However, no matter how strong its polling numbers may be, they do not automatically translate into a place in government.
LPV is heading into the election with parliamentary experience and politicians who, so to speak, “know the ropes”. Among its most prominent parliamentary initiatives during the 14th Saeima – proposals that are also included in its current election programme – are allowing people to withdraw their second-pillar pension savings; abolishing property tax on a person’s only home; introducing a reduced VAT rate not only for vegetables but also for bread, milk, meat and sausages; reducing VAT on infant formula and nappies; and introducing a 5,000-euro benefit for every newborn child, among other measures.
Although these initiatives did not receive support in the Saeima, they demonstrated that LPV consistently promotes its key issues and values, including traditional family values, and is capable of maintaining a high public profile. However, if LPV becomes a governing party and wants to deliver on its promises, the ability to criticise will no longer be enough. It will have to secure majority support, agree on the order in which decisions are implemented and take into account the limits of the state budget.
It should be recalled that in the 2025 Riga City Council election, LPV won 18.17% of the vote and 13 seats – more than any other list. Yet Šlesers’ party remained in opposition even in the capital. This result highlights the party’s main problem: despite strong voter support, it struggles to find partners with whom it can form a majority.
A brief look at how the party emerged
Ainārs Šlesers has been involved in the creation of several political parties: the New Party (1998), Latvia’s First Party (2000), For a Good Latvia (2010), Šlesers’ Reform Party LPP/LC (2011), and United for Latvia, which Šlesers joined in 2014 and subsequently became its leader.
LPV was founded on the 16th of August, 2021, at a time when Covid-19 restrictions were deeply dividing society. For Šlesers, it marked a return to politics after a break of approximately seven years.
The party name was new, but its leadership brought together a number of already familiar politicians and public figures, including Linda Liepiņa, Vilis Krištopans, Edmunds Zivtiņš, Ilze Stobova and others.
Jūlija Stepaņenko and Ļubova Švecova, meanwhile, were expelled after they declined to join LPV in condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Conservative values and major economic promises
LPV’s political niche can be described as populist, socially conservative and business-friendly. The party contrasts entrepreneurial people and ordinary citizens with a slow and bureaucratic government and promises a rapid change of course.
On the economy, LPV promises lower taxes, investment, transit development and major infrastructure projects. On social issues, it advocates Christian values and the concept of the natural family, wants Latvia to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and seeks to enshrine the definition of family in the Constitution.
At the same time, it promises to unite residents regardless of their native language, pursue a close alliance with the United States and support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
This combination allows LPV to appeal to several audiences: people expecting an economic breakthrough, socially conservative voters, those dissatisfied with previous governments, and voters from different language groups who place greater importance on wages, prices and the way public administration treats them.
At the same time, Šlesers has faced public criticism over what critics describe as his desire to preserve the possibility of eventually resuming trade with Russia. For years, he has defended the importance of ports, railways and eastbound cargo flows to Latvia’s economy.
Even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has said that relations with Russia will eventually have to be rebuilt after the war and that sanctions could one day be lifted.
Critics see this as a willingness to return too quickly to a business model that made Latvia dependent on Russian cargo. Šlesers himself describes his position as a pragmatic defence of Latvia’s economic interests and has condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
The party’s “faces”
The party’s central figure is unquestionably Ainārs Šlesers, who heads its Riga list. Support for “Šlesers’ party” is largely based on voters’ belief in his ability to deliver results, even though LPV has not yet been part of a national government where this could be put to the test.
Linda Liepiņa, leader of the LPV parliamentary group in the 14th Saeima, heads the party’s Vidzeme list. She took over leadership of the LPV parliamentary group after Šlesers moved to Riga City Council. According to the Saeima’s summary of the 2026 spring session, she was among the MPs who spoke most frequently in debates, with 18 appearances.
Edmunds Zivtiņš is the number one candidate in Zemgale. As a former head of the Traffic Police, Zivtiņš gives the party a law-and-order profile.
The Latgale list is headed by former Rēzekne mayor Aleksandrs Bartaševičs. In the 2025 municipal election, the joint LPV and Together for Latvia list he represented won eight of the 13 seats on the city council, and Bartaševičs was the elected councillor who received the strongest voter support. While some see him as a defender of Rēzekne’s interests, others associate him with the city’s financial crisis.
Andrejs Klementjevs is also near the top of the Riga list, benefiting from name recognition dating back to his time with Harmony. Much the same can be said of Regīna Ločmele.
Ainars Baštiks, number three on the Riga list, is pastor of the Matejs Baptist congregation and a former Minister for Children and Family Affairs. His candidacy serves to some extent as a guarantee of LPV’s promises to support families and Christian values.
Former Freeport of Riga chief Leonīds Loginovs, meanwhile, is running in the final, 42nd position on the Riga list. The party has named him as its candidate for transport minister. This allows LPV to argue that its promises concerning the development of ports and transit are backed by someone with experience managing the sector.
In this way, the party can appeal to people working in ports, railways, transport and related businesses for whom the future of these industries is personally important.
Strong polling numbers and programme promises
LPV was among the leaders in opinion polls during the summer. According to SKDS data, support among all respondents stood at 10% in July, fell to 8.5% in August and rose again to 9.2% in September.
Among voters who had already decided which party to support, LPV had 16.7% backing in September, placing it third in the rankings.
Meanwhile, in a September poll conducted by Latvijas Fakti in cooperation with Faktu logs, LPV was supported by 8.6% of all Latvian citizens surveyed. At the end of August, the figure was 8.3%, meaning support increased by 0.3 percentage points over the month.
Among respondents who had already chosen a party, the Latvijas Fakti poll put LPV at 12.9%, in second place behind the United List at 23.8%. Another 20% of respondents had not yet decided how they would vote.
LPV has an easily recognisable leader, a clear opposition message and a demonstrated ability to attract votes, as shown by the Riga election. The party offers simple and easily understood answers to complex problems: lower taxes, a lower cost of living, more jobs and less bureaucracy.
At the same time, its programme combines extensive tax cuts, a 5,000-euro benefit for every newborn child, higher healthcare spending and projects worth several billion euros. These promises help sustain voter support, but the question of where the money for all of them would come from remains unanswered.
Among other measures, LPV’s election programme promises a 10% tax rate for the self-employed, corporate income and capital gains; reduced VAT on several goods and sectors; the abolition of property tax on a person’s only home; the right to withdraw second-pillar pension savings; a directly elected president; and a lower threshold for initiating referendums.
The party also proposes reviewing the implementation of Rail Baltica, attracting US partners for the construction of a nuclear power plant, and investing in major road and other infrastructure projects. As noted above, some of these proposals have already appeared in the party’s parliamentary initiatives during the current Saeima term.
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