Progressives' election list overshadowed by scandals and government crisis

The Progressives party is fielding a full slate of 125 candidates for the 15th Saeima elections, including members from the "Par!" movement and regional political groups. Polling support has dropped to around nine percent in the month before the vote, which would still likely place the party third or fourth, but well below the over-13% support it enjoyed in early 2024.

Campaign marred by controversies

One recent controversy involved Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs, who called residents "haters" at a public event after they had collected signatures demanding the removal of bollards in the Grīziņkalns neighborhood. Another stemmed from candidate Dace Bluķe, who, explaining why party candidates don't list their ethnicity on official forms, invoked the Holocaust victims shot at the Šķēde dunes — a comparison that sparked widespread public outrage. The party has also faced criticism over the possibility of nominating Agnese Lāce for culture minister, given her 2022 public remarks urging people to "forget" the Soviet occupation.

The party has additionally been linked to this spring's government crisis: after drone incidents near oil infrastructure in Rēzekne, Defence Minister Andris Sprūds resigned, and the Progressives subsequently withdrew support from Prime Minister Evika Siliņa's government, contributing to its collapse. The party has also drawn criticism over Rail Baltica setbacks tied to former Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens.

Platform priorities

Positioning itself as a social-democratic and green party, the Progressives list three main priorities: closing Latvia's gap with other Baltic states, reducing the cost of living, and safeguarding democracy. The platform promises higher family benefits and pensions, a unified monthly public transport ticket, a cap on medication co-payments, and expanded housing support, without proposing broad tax cuts.

The Riga list is led by prime ministerial candidate Andris Šuvajevs, the Vidzeme list by former Defence Minister Andris Sprūds, and the Latgale list by Leila Rasima.