US Midterms Won by Democrats: Lessons That Mirror Latvia's Own Election
A commentary in the Latvian daily Diena compares the US election outcome with Latvia's recent vote, noting that the cost of living and corruption concerns drove voters in both. It cautions that Europe should not assume American voters were thinking about European security.
Following a US election in which the Democratic Party won convincingly, a commentary in the Latvian daily Diena draws a parallel with the recent parliamentary election in Latvia, won by the United List. The author stresses that the two countries differ in scale and global weight, yet the main post-election conclusions are strikingly similar. Further forecasts, he argues, are risky even for seasoned experts on American politics.
What drove voters
The commentary says the main motive was the cost of living and unfulfilled economic expectations. Voters weighed food, housing, healthcare and fuel costs against what had been promised. About two thirds believed President Donald Trump's policies had worsened the economy, and eight in ten of them voted for the Democrats.
Roughly seven in ten voters felt Congress does not sufficiently restrain the president, including about four in ten Republicans. More than half of US voters named corruption at the government level as a decisive factor. The text cites the president's and first lady's cryptocurrency business, son-in-law Jared Kushner's dealings with Middle Eastern states, an aircraft gifted by Qatar, and a wedding of Donald Trump Jr. paid for by a businessman close to the Kremlin.
The author concludes that the Democratic win is not an endorsement of their platform, just as the United List's success in Latvia did not stem from a radically new approach to political reform. Voters knew more clearly what they wanted to be rid of than what they expected from the new holders of power.
Differences and consequences for Europe
Support for Ukraine, attitudes toward European allies and even the tariff wars had little influence on the result; tariffs worried Americans mainly as a cause of rising prices. The author argues that Americans do not vote on European security but on their daily lives, so Europe's existential interests may be a secondary matter for them.
Wolfgang Ischinger, a German diplomat and longtime chairman of the Munich Security Conference, warns that curbing Trump at home may push him to use his powers more actively in foreign policy and trade. In his view, Europe should prepare for greater discord in transatlantic relations and even bigger demands from Trump.
