How parties react to ratings: some boast, others question their credibility
Once party ratings are published in Latvia, they become part of politicians' own messaging — some highlight favorable results while others question the polls' reliability. SKDS director Arnis Kaktiņš notes that significant shifts are still possible before the election.
Published party ratings in Latvia no longer simply reflect public opinion — they have also become a tool in politicians' communication strategies. When results are favorable, some party representatives quickly use them to confirm their course is correct and to reinforce voter trust. When ratings show a decline, however, some politicians take a different approach, questioning the survey's methodology, expressing distrust of the pollsters, or using weak results as grounds for public disputes with rival parties.
Ratings are not the final word
Speaking on the program "Spried ar Delfi," Arnis Kaktiņš, director of the sociological research center SKDS, explained that current rating figures should not be seen as fixed. He stressed that there is still time before the election during which voter sentiment could shift considerably, meaning today's numbers are not, in his words, "set in stone."
Kaktiņš's assessment points to a broader pattern: politicians' emotional reactions to ratings often outpace the actual significance of the figures themselves. Polls capture a snapshot of a particular moment rather than offering a definitive forecast of the election outcome, so both excessive optimism and excessive suspicion toward the results may be premature.
