Jurēvics: New Unity Passed Election "With a Four" and Is Preparing for Local Elections

Latvia's political alliance New Unity (JV) has started preparing for the next municipal elections, which it regards as decisive, following the parliamentary (Saeima) election. Edmunds Jurēvics, chair of the JV faction in the Saeima, said this on the Latvian Television programme "Rīta Panorāma". The United List won the Saeima election convincingly, while JV itself considers its own result unsatisfactory.

Assessment of the election result

Comparing the election to an exam, Jurēvics said the alliance passed "with a four" because it entered parliament. At the same time, he admitted that the result was not satisfactory. According to him, the congresses of the parties that make up the alliance will review the mistakes made in the campaign and decide on new leadership. Jurēvics repeatedly stressed that JV is a European and democratic alliance for which evaluating its performance after an election is normal practice.

Mistakes and voter expectations

The faction chair acknowledged that the party had made a number of mistakes and had acted too indecisively. As examples he cited the election of the Bank of Latvia governor and the dismissal of Kaspars Briškens as transport minister. In his view, voters understand that the party had to agree to compromises on various issues, but they would have expected faster and more decisive action.

Local governments and partners

Jurēvics noted that, with about 100 councillors, JV is the second-largest political alliance represented in the regions, after the United List. For that reason, he said, preparations for the next municipal elections should begin now. He also said cooperation with regional partners has been very good and that, after the Saeima election, they have confirmed their readiness to continue working with Unity.