Siliņa: New Unity's election result could have been better without joining Kulbergs' government
New Unity representative Evika Siliņa admits her party's 6.36% result in the 15th Saeima election might have been better had it not joined Andris Kulbergs' coalition government after her resignation. The United List won the election decisively.
Former Prime Minister Evika Siliņa of New Unity (JV) has suggested on TV3's "900 sekundes" program that her party's performance in the 15th Saeima election could have turned out better had JV not joined the coalition government formed by Andris Kulbergs (United List, AS) after her resignation.
Siliņa reasoned that without JV's participation, the United List would have had to either form a minority cabinet or seek cooperation with the "Latvia First" (LPV) party. She declined to speculate on what AS's current result would have looked like under that scenario.
Reflecting on the party's result
Asked what JV's own result might have been in that alternate scenario, Siliņa said it was hard to say, but acknowledged it could possibly have been better. She openly admitted that JV is not satisfied with its outcome and that the party will need to draw conclusions from it.
Siliņa congratulated Kulbergs and the United List on their strong election result and said JV is ready to take part in coalition talks led by that party. In her view, the current situation offers a unique opportunity to form a government that could devote more time to achieving goals rather than to prolonged coalition negotiations. However, she stressed that the next steps in government formation depend on choices made by the United List, and confirmed JV is prepared to work in opposition if necessary.
Election results
According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, the United List won the 15th Saeima election decisively with 35.3% of the vote. LPV placed second with 13.1%, followed by "Sovereign Power/Union of Latvians" with 11.71%. The National Alliance received 8.9%, the Progressives 7.88%, and JV 6.36%. The Greens and Farmers' Union, part of the outgoing government, won only 4.4%, falling short of the 5% threshold needed to enter the new Saeima.
