Approval ratings for members of Riga City Council’s leadership have declined, according to the latest survey conducted by research company SKDS. The sharpest drop was recorded for Marta Kotello, chair of the Committee for Public Space and Mobility. But does this mean that public support for the Progressives is beginning to erode? BNN asked political analyst Filips Rajevskis, co-owner of the media company Mediju tilts, for his assessment.
According to Rajevskis, the ratings should be viewed in their full context rather than judged solely by the headlines.
“First of all, we need to look at how well these politicians are actually known,” he said. “The mayor, the two deputy mayors and the executive director have at least some public recognition. But when it comes to many of the others, up to 60% of respondents simply do not know who they are. That means these are not particularly meaningful approval ratings. The real issue is low public recognition.”
He added that when recognition is combined with negative public sentiment, Kotello’s position becomes more problematic.
“More than half of the public doesn’t know who she is, but those who do know her tend to view her quite negatively. Across all demographic groups—age, gender, social groups and language groups—her ratings are negative. Having low recognition is one thing, but combining that with negative ratings is something she should seriously think about,” Rajevskis said.
Asked about Deputy Mayor Edvards Ratnieks, whose rating recorded the third-largest decline, dropping by 7.1 percentage points, Rajevskis argued that a closer look at the data paints a different picture.
“It is quite clear that he is unpopular among Russian-speaking voters, which is hardly surprising given his political activities—from the Victory Park issue to the National Alliance’s efforts to strengthen the use of the Latvian language in Riga. Among Latvian-speaking voters his approval remains positive, while among Russian speakers it is strongly negative. So although the headline may say that Ratnieks’ rating has fallen, within his target electorate his position remains perfectly acceptable.”
Commenting on the improved rating of Deputy Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis, Rajevskis said the politician continues to benefit from his previous tenure as Mayor of Riga.
“He is well known, and at the moment he isn’t drawing excessive public attention, which helps him maintain stable approval ratings.”
Turning to current Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs, Rajevskis believes he faces challenges similar to Kotello’s.
“It’s not so much about recognition as it is about public dissatisfaction with what the Progressives have been doing in Riga. If you look at different social groups, economically active residents living outside the city centre and those who regularly use public transport tend to assess the situation rather negatively. That can also be linked to the same issues affecting Kotello’s ratings.”
When BNN suggested that Kotello’s poor rating may reflect public dissatisfaction with controversial traffic-calming measures, such as the closure of Vārnu Street, Rajevskis agreed that the factors are interconnected.
“Most people don’t know who she is, but residents of Vārnu Street and others directly affected by these inconveniences certainly do. What she has done is viewed negatively, but on a broader level many Riga residents simply don’t know who she is,” he said.
Asked whether the Riga City Council ratings could influence the outcome of the next parliamentary elections, Rajevskis urged caution.
“Historically, the approval ratings of the Saeima and Riga City Council have not shown a particularly strong correlation. Being unpopular in a Riga poll does not automatically translate into poor results in parliamentary elections. If one of these politicians decides to run for the Saeima, then the ratings may have some impact on that individual, but even then, not to a very significant extent. We really shouldn’t mix apples and oranges.”
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