The ruling coalition retained its majority

The Unity bloc led by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis won the parliamentary elections in Latvia. With his coalition government partners, he received almost 60% of the vote. Contrary to forecasts, the left-of-center association “Consent Center,” which focuses on the Russian-speaking population of the country, was content with only 26%. This leaves almost no chance for the Center to enter the government.

The Unity association of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis received the support of 31% of voters. Together with partners in the current government coalition from the Union of Greens and Peasants (21.32%) and the nationalist association "Fatherland and Freedom / Movement for National Independence of Latvia" (7.65%) this gives him almost 60 mandates in the country's 100-seat parliament . The center-left association "Consent Center" came to the finish line second, having secured the support of 26% of voters.

Even on the eve of the parliamentary elections, experts were not at all confident in the unconditional victory of Unity. Observers believed that in the conditions of the economic crisis, which hit Latvia more painfully than others, voters would want to see new forces in power. The desire is predictable, given that the decline in production in the country amounted to 25%, and unemployment tripled - to almost 20%. To overcome the crisis, the coalition cabinet enlisted the support of the IMF and the EU, which provided Riga with a loan in the amount of €7.5 billion. At the same time, the assistance was conditioned by reducing the budget deficit and preventing the devaluation of the lat. In fact, this resulted in a reduction in salaries in the public sector - in some cases up to 50%.

The Harmony Center based its campaign on sharp criticism of the government's anti-crisis policy. The opposition characterized the agreement with the IMF as a “financial occupation” of the country. Instead, she defended the idea of devaluing the lat, since the sharp reduction in salaries of public sector employees still reduced purchasing power, but did not create advantages for local producers in foreign markets. In addition, strong armor held back foreign investment in the real estate market, which had sagged due to the crisis. At the same time, the “Consent Center” appealed not only to Russians, but also to Latvians, diligently positioning itself as a party of the entire Latvian people - in contrast to the party “For Human Rights in a United Latvia”, which in the current elections failed to overcome the five percent barrier and get into to the Sejm. Polls predicted the Harmony Center would receive at least 30% of the vote, but in the end the party received 4% less.

“The results of the parliamentary elections in Latvia are the result of the maturity of the electorate of the country - a new member of the EU, which is not ready to shift responsibility for its own mistakes onto others, as they do in Greece,” Arkady Moshes, director of the Russian program at the Finnish Institute of International Relations, told Kommersant. “People understand that there is no alternative to tightening their belts.” In addition, the expert pointed out, Dombrovskis’s cabinet managed to achieve certain successes. Thus, growth was noted during the first two quarters of 2010, and in September Fitch upgraded Latvia's rating to BB+ - from negative to stable.

As Valdis Dombrovskis, who will retain his prime minister's post, said yesterday, he will negotiate with all forces, including representatives of the Harmony Center. “We have no goal of isolating them,” he explained, adding that he would meet with representatives of the Center today. Experts doubt that the opposition will be taken into the coalition, because even with the Union of Greens and Peasants, Unity can form a majority cabinet. As Mr. Moshes believes, Valdis Dombrovskis will build a partnership with the Center on the principles of a situational coalition.

Alexander Reutov; Konstantin Ganin, Riga

Latvian Prime Minister emerges from crisis