Ushakov: Only Members and Congress Can Decide on Liquidating Latvia's Harmony Party
European Parliament member Nils Ushakov says the decision on dissolving the Harmony party rests with its members and congress. He will not attend the congress, as it takes place days before the final vote on the EU budget.
Nils Ushakov, a member of the European Parliament and former leader of Latvia's party "Saskaņa" (Harmony), has commented on reports that the party may be liquidated. In his words, the decision belongs to party members and its congress. The comment followed a public announcement by a board member that he would propose the party dissolve itself. Such a step would be significant for Latvian politics, as Harmony has for many years been one of the country's prominent opposition forces.
Ushakov stressed that he has not been involved in the party's work since February, when he left its board. He said he has devoted this year entirely to the European Union's 2027 budget, for which he is the European Parliament's lead rapporteur. According to him, the budget is being adopted under rather difficult circumstances.
The congress that will discuss the party's future is set for a few days before the final budget vote, so Ushakov will be unable to attend. He will decide on his further political plans once the budget has been adopted. Until then, he said, his task is to secure the most favourable decisions possible for Latvia and other countries along the EU's eastern border.
Urbanovičs's proposal
Board member Jānis Urbanovičs told the newspaper "Diena" that he has convened a party congress for 21 November, where he will propose self-liquidation. He hopes it will be the last congress and wants to finish the matter sooner, so that former party staff and supporters do not have to watch Harmony's suffering.
Urbanovičs acknowledged that the poor result in the 15th Saeima (Latvian parliament) election was linked to apathy and a failure to "wake up" the party. In his view, apathy was fuelled by leaders moving to other political forces, as well as by general disbelief. He noted that a full half of voters stayed at home. Urbanovičs no longer sees himself in Harmony and believes the party needs a new leader. He also did not rule out that leaders who grew up within the party should consider a new project, starting from a "blank slate".
The political alliance "Saskaņas centrs" (Harmony Centre) received 0.820% of the vote in the latest election.
