Parish activist: politicians pledge care for residents before elections, but attention fades afterwards
Lidija Ozoliņa, secretary of the Pilskalne parish residents' council, explains why politicians' attention to residents tends to fade after elections. She points to personal ambition and the limited resources available in the Saeima.
The Latvian regional publication Staburags has raised the question of how to make people in Latvia feel needed not only during election campaigns but in everyday life as well. In the article, the question is answered by Lidija Ozoliņa, secretary of the Pilskalne parish residents' council.
The problem
The publication notes that as elections approach, residents move to the centre of politicians' attention: their needs are heard, their problems are identified and promises are handed out. After the vote, however, this attention often fades, while many problems remain unresolved. The impression arises that people are remembered when their votes are needed, while in daily life their opinions and needs are not always heard.
The parish representative's explanation
Ozoliņa believes the situation is linked to people as individuals who first think of themselves. In her words, before an election it is important for a politician to win votes and get into the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, where a post, a salary and status await. That matters both materially and as a way of asserting oneself as a personality.
The promising then begins, and the would-be politician sees the whole territory of Latvia and the country as a whole. Once the elected politician arrives in the Saeima, there are many issues to deal with, and money is only as much as there is. Needs and wishes must also be reconciled with other needs and possibilities, and with politicians who think differently.
The part of the publication available does not provide other opinions or specific solutions.
