Which developments in domestic politics had a strong impact on the outgoing year and whose traces society will also feel next year? BNN asked political scientist Filips Rajevskis, co-owner of the company Mediju tilts, to name, in his view, the three most significant events of 2025 which, having begun this year, will only continue to gain momentum.
“The main political event this year was the local government elections. They will directly affect the Saeima elections next year as well, because local election results form the base for a successful start in parliament. It is practically impossible to speak of a successful start across all regions and all major constituencies if you do not have support on the ground, i.e. in municipalities. To some extent, it was a dress rehearsal for the Saeima elections,” says Filips Rajevskis, ranking them first in his list of the year’s key events.
As the second most important event, the political scientist mentions the end-of-year epic surrounding the adoption of the state budget. “We will live with this budget until the end of next year, and even the new parliament elected in the autumn will still be operating under the budget drafted by this Saeima. The decision in fiscal policy to follow a path of borrowing rather than sensible austerity will leave a long-term imprint and will also affect the inflation environment. In turn, rising costs will influence society’s choices in the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
The government’s 4×4 restart takes third place. “The government restart was limited merely to replacing a few ministerial faces; everything else should be written off as losses, dumped into the political trash heap,” the political scientist harshly assesses the ‘government sprint’ announced by the prime minister at the beginning of the year.
Asked how he sees 2026—better, worse, or the same as this year—Filips Rajevskis expresses hope that next year will nevertheless be better. “One must hope that the symptoms which have appeared in the economy will have some positive effect. Perhaps people will have more money; that would only be positive. It is also possible that some investments will arrive. As we can see, part of the government is doing something in this area.” As another hallmark of the coming year, the political scientist mentions endless populism. “Elections are approaching, which means everyone has to promise everything and live according to the words of one of the founders of Jaunā Vienotība: ‘How can you not promise?’”