Latvia Votes Amid Russia Security Fears and Economic Strain

Latvia holds a snap parliamentary election on Saturday with security policy toward Russia and domestic economic pressures dominating the campaign. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' United List party leads polls at around 20%, but his centre-right coalition partners risk falling below the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament.

A broad consensus supports maintaining defence spending near 5% of GDP and continued military aid to Ukraine, according to analyst Roberts Kits of the LaSER think tank. However, voters cite the cost of living, healthcare quality, and regional inequality as pressing concerns.

“The posture vis-à-vis Russia is the main reason for the Western, NATO and European anchoring of Latvians.”

Latvia remains the poorest of the three Baltic states by living standards despite growth since joining the EU in 2004. GDP per capita around Riga reached 101% of the EU average in 2024, while eastern Latgale region lags below 50%.

Kulbergs recently lost a partial battle in Brussels over the delisting of two Russian oligarchs from EU sanctions lists, though the overall regime is now locked in for three years. He dismissed speculation about cooperating with right-wing veteran Ainārs Šlesers, who opposed restrictive tariffs on Russia.