The upcoming municipal elections are evident not only from the ban on pre-election campaigning, but also from the increasing activity of political forces seeking to appeal to and retain their electorate. BNN asked political scientist and co-owner of the company “Mediju tilts,” Filips Rajevskis, just how far parties are willing to go in their battle for voters’ support.
There’s no doubt that the competition will be fierce. According to Filips Rajevskis, one of the reasons is that municipal elections will significantly influence the parliamentary (Saeima) elections. “This influence is not about voter choices – people tend to vote differently in municipal versus parliamentary elections. The point is about administrative resources. If a party gains decent representation at the municipal level, those resources can be used during the next Saeima elections,” the political scientist explains.
Asked to comment on the situation involving the political party “Latvia First” and its use of financial support from the Chinese Embassy to organize a trip for seniors from Kurzeme to Riga – including a tour of the Saeima and lunch at a Chinese restaurant – Rajevskis notes that there’s nothing wrong with treating pensioners to lunch; what’s not allowed is accepting money from third parties. “If a Saeima deputy (in this case, Ramona Petraviča – ed.) spends her own money to host seniors, I don’t see anything wrong with that. But accepting money from a foreign embassy for this purpose is a completely different matter, and this raises questions about violations of legal and ethical norms.”
While forecasting election outcomes is a notoriously tricky task, we asked Rajevskis which political forces currently hold the strongest positions. He points out that the situation varies widely across Latvia’s municipalities, but in Riga, Ainārs Šlesers appears to have relatively strong support. However, the political scientist also emphasizes that a scenario in which a single political party controls the capital is unlikely. “A coalition will be necessary in any case, and those who are best at forming one will win.”
When asked whether, in the pursuit of power, “Latvia First” might consider forming a coalition with “Stability!”, Rajevskis is dismissive. “That is very unlikely, because cooperation with “Stability!” places a significant political burden on any party that’s thinking seriously about its future. Therefore, this party is the least likely coalition partner. Still, we can’t rule out all other combinations.”