Latvian general election expected to maintain support for Ukraine... Rise of populist party variables

Most of the 14 political parties support Ukraine... Populist force variable

(Berlin = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Gye-yeon = Latvia, a Baltic country bordering Russia, will hold general elections on the 3rd (local time).

Latvia, a member of the European Union (EU) and a country in the eastern part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is primarily concerned about security issues due to military threats from Russia. However, with most political parties advocating anti-Russian policies, the government's stance of active support for European integration and Ukraine is not expected to change.

According to Latvian public broadcaster LSM, 1,428 candidates from 14 political parties ran in today's general election to elect 100 Saeima (parliament) members for a four-year term. If a party's vote rate falls below 5%, it will not be allocated seats. Approximately 1.5 million voters can vote until 8 p.m. on this day.

In Latvia, the coalition government was broken in May, with Defense Minister Andris Spruts and Prime Minister Evika Silinja resigning following a political dispute over Ukrainian drone violations of the country's airspace. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' newly formed center-right coalition government is effectively a five-month temporary government.

According to recent opinion poll results, the United List (AS) led by Prime Minister Kullbergs is ranked first with an approval rating of 22.7%. If the Unified List becomes the largest party, there is a high possibility that the framework of a center-right coalition government involving the National Alliance (NA), New United Party (JV), and Green Farmers' Union (ZZS) will be maintained.

"Defense and security are the top issues," Robert Kitz, a director at the Latvian Institute for Strategic Economics, a think tank, told AFP. He said there was broad agreement to keep defense spending at 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) and to support Ukraine.

However, populist parties that are struggling with the difficult economy may act as a variable. Latvia's per capita GDP is the third lowest among the 27 EU member states. According to the Kiel Institute for World Economic Research in Germany, 2.11% of GDP has been spent on supporting Ukraine since the outbreak of war, making it the sixth largest proportion in the world.

The Sovereign Powers (SV), which is critical of support for Ukraine and increased defense spending, is in second place with an approval rating of 14.1% in opinion polls, but is classified as a pro-Russian party and is unlikely to participate in the coalition. However, AFP predicted that the right-wing populist Latvian First Party (LPV), which recorded an approval rating of 13.1%, may become an essential partner in coalition negotiations.

In Latvia, which became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian speakers account for more than 30% of the total population of approximately 1.8 million people. However, it has implemented hard-line anti-Russian policies, including drastically reducing Russian language education in schools and banning the import of Russian products independently of the EU. Former Soviet officials and Communist Party members cannot run in general elections.