Victory for Kulbergs in parliamentary elections in Latvia

Riga. In Latvia's parliamentary elections, voters made the party of the Western-oriented head of government the strongest force amid concerns about national security and social policy problems. Andris Kulbergs' United List wins the vote in the Baltic EU and NATO country even more clearly than already expected. The 47-year-old is likely to continue his course and resolute support for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. It is still unclear what the future government will look like in the Baltic Sea country with around 1.9 million inhabitants, which borders Russia and Belarus.

Kulbergs only took over government responsibility in May with a four-party coalition of conservatives and centrist forces after the previous government collapsed over a dispute over drone incidents. Political scientists are now talking about Kulberg’s “greatest moment”. Even within his center-right party, many attribute the election success largely to the ex-entrepreneur.

After counting almost all polling stations, the United List - an alliance of green, conservative and business-oriented groups - is expected to receive 42 of a total of 100 seats in the Saeima parliament. This means it can almost triple its mandates. It entered parliament just four years ago and is now achieving the best election result for a party in Latvia since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

He also relied on this in the election campaign, in which he campaigned for himself with the slogan “Kulbergs is the solution”. The head of government, who is almost two meters tall, portrayed himself as a doer and a man of clear words. He takes a strongly business-oriented approach and wants to get the state finances in order.

Populist forces are also making strong gains. The Latvian party will be the second strongest force (17 mandates) ahead of the Sovereign Power (14 mandates), neither of which will be allowed to participate in the government. With their election promises, they particularly scored points with voters from the Russian minority, some of whom view their large eastern neighbor differently than the majority society.

Of Kulbergs' previous three coalition partners, only two made it into parliament: the national-conservative National Alliance (11 mandates) and the liberal-conservative Jauna Vienotiba (7 mandates). The left-wing Progressives (9 seats) will also be represented in parliament as one of a total of six political forces. The United List announced that it would first talk to its existing partners about forming a coalition.

The central issues in the election campaign were security and defense. In Latvia, drones have repeatedly caused unrest since the spring when they entered the airspace in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Concerned about dangers from the air, Riga asked its NATO allies for support in conducting the election safely. The Bundeswehr relocated four Eurofighters to Latvia.

In addition, socio-political and economic issues played a major role. Since Latvia is investing heavily in its security, there is a lack of money elsewhere. The health system is suffering, emigration and aging are a problem. Many complain about high prices and low salaries and the economy is stalling.