RIGA – Created by the former head of the Latvian central bank Einars Repse, the New Era party suffered from a deathly blow.
Recently, MPs from the New Era party along with leaders in different municipalities announced they would quit their membership in the party.
Except for a short period late 2004, the New Era has been in the opposition to the current four-party ruling coalition since Repse stepped down as the country’s prime minister in 2004.
As an opposition party, it has been widely populist and ineffective. And populist ideas came at a cost.
The 17-year-old modern Latvian parliamentary democracy draws on one major flaw – it is void of a strong potent opposition. Generally, the Left in the context of the Latvian political spectrum refers to the so-called Russian parties. Saskanas Centrs and PCTVL usurped the leftist name tag, even though they’re not of the Left ideology.
Two core issues have divided the public and consequently the political spectrum in Latvia – the language and citizenship. The pseudo-left parties adhere to a Russian-centric agenda: easing naturalization requirements for non-citizens, for example. While the right parties adhere mostly to ethnocentrism of ethnic Latvians.
However, in recent months, the political spectrum and public’s concerns have been shifting, resulting in the outpour of support for the anti-corruption czar, Aleksejs Loskutovs.
When Saskanas Centrs and Jaunais Laiks joined forces, it was a sign of change that ultimately brought down Jaunais Laiks and, in a way, resurrected Latvian Social Democrats, LSDSP, who are not in the Parliament.
When Saskanas Centrs took part in the protest against the corruption, or what I had mistakenly called the Subdued Revolution, it smelled of change much larger than people’s disdain for political elite – it smelled of the greater change on the political spectrum.
As a result, we can no longer call pro-Russian parties as the political Left. Citizenship issues took the back seat to the issues of economics, corruption, – all of which cross the Great Ethnic Divide, making an appropriate political climate for the true Left to emerge.
And the time is ripe for it. Latvians, who are notoriously pessimistic, have been even more so when it comes to political life. They’re ready for change in the ruling elite; they’re ready for alternative.