Weekly Briefing, Vol. 46. No. 1 (LVA) December 2021
Politics of Latvia in 2021: A Year in Review
Introduction
In 2021, the main emphasis in Latvian politics was on ensuring public health and the sustainability of the health system under the guise of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as strengthening the country’s internal and external security. Much attention was also paid to the course of administrative-territorial reform, as a result of which 43 new municipalities were established instead of the previous 119 local ones. Important political decisions of the year significantly influenced the attitude of the Latvian population towards participation in local elections 2021 and towards the government in general.
I Another Year of COVID-19: Crisis of the Health Sector
The vaccination of the Latvian society has been the top priority for maintaining the safety of the people and preventing the spread of the disease. On January 5, 2021, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, Krisjanis Karins, requested the resignation of the then Minister of Health, Ilze Vinkele, due to the lack of a vaccination plan. The Prime Minister explained that since the beginning of the pandemic, he has advocated decisive action in the fight against COVID-19 and encountered opposition from the Minister of Health Ilze Vinkele, for example, regarding the wearing of masks. After the resignation of the Minister Vinkele, Daniels Pavļuts became the Minister of Health.
The first vaccines were delivered in the last days of 2020 and vaccination of the medical staff began. When the prevalence of COVID-19 in Latvia reached an all-time high state of emergency was announced in the medical sector. Doctors raised apprehensions about the immediate need for a strict “lockdown”. The government was reluctant to impose effective restrictions, but declared a state of emergency to increase vaccination coverage in the country. However, the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 continued to grow and Latvia reached the first place in the world in terms of the spread of the virus, thus on October 11, the government announced a month-long lockdown and a 3-month state of emergency, until January 11, 2022.
In the long run, the measures taken by the government to make vaccinations available and to reduce restrictions on vaccinated people show a positive growth trend in vaccination in 2021 (see Figure 1). So, if at the beginning of 2021 only 1 person was vaccinated per day, then at the end of November 2021 – 12 055 vaccinations per day were provided. In December 2021, more than 65 % of Latvian residents completed the full course of vaccination, and around 74 % (1,219 million inhabitants) received the first vaccine.
Figure 1. Increase in the number of vaccinated people, 2021
Source: Covid-19 GOV. (n.d.). Covid-19 vakcinācijas statistika. Covid-19.
https://covid19.gov.lv/covid-19/covid-19-statistika/covid-19-vakcinacijas-statistika
II The Administrative Territorial Reform and Local Elections of 2021
2021 will go down in history in Latvian politics with the implementation of a new administrative-territorial reform in Latvia, which changed the administrative map, significantly reducing the number of local governments. The aim of the reform is to create economically stronger and more developed municipalities that are able to attract investment, ensure more balanced development and provide quality services to their citizens, but many politicians and residents of the regions have expressed their dissatisfaction with the new order.
On June 5, 2021, local elections were held in 40 new municipalities instead of the previous 119 local ones. Mainly regional and national political parties who were in power before were able to maintain the political status quo, although some new local parties were elected through alliances with the big actors. The most dramatic outcome of these elections is voter turnout, which was extremely low – only 34,01% of eligible voters took part in the elections, making it the lowest percentage since the restoration of independence of Latvia.
The new solution aimed at increasing number of eligible voters, is digitalization of the voting registration process in Latvia. It is planned that an electronic voter register will allow voters to vote at any polling station in their municipality using their electronic identity card alongside passport as personal identification document, as many citizens recently choose to have only eID card. However, it didn’t help to increase number of voters who took part in elections.
The June local elections were especially essential for the further growth of local governments and the state, as the number of local governments and their territorial boundaries due to elections have change significantly as a result of the administrative territorial reform. However, the local elections taking place across most of Latvia failed to stimulate large numbers of people to cast their ballots. Record low voter turnout in the local elections raised concerns that in case if Parliament elections next year will experience the same low turnout, it will seriously damage the reputation of the Parliament and the decisions it has taken.
III Priority 2021 – Strengthening the Internal Affairs System
In 2021, the country has faced situations reminiscent of the internal security system lagging behind the overall progress of the country. The shortcomings of the interior system and the inability to cope with various challenges were highlighted in April 2021, when a football agent was assassinated in the middle of the day in the center of Riga. Up to the date of this article, no progress has been made in investigating this case. After the shocking events of April 2021, the President of Latvia Egils Levits mentioned to journalists that the internal security sector is in a critical state, it needs additional support to sufficiently guarantee national and public security.
In June 2021, the new Minister of the Interior Marija Golubeva was elected, who acknowledged that modern and high-quality training of young police officers throughout the career of a police officer is very important. Another priority is to find a solution to the inability of both the police and other services to detect and prevent hate crimes. It was already clear to the Minister at the time that many services were poorly equipped, for example, the police had inadequate premises and equipment, and there was a lack of modern technology.
In the summer of 2021, the number of migrants trying illegally to enter from Belarus to the territory of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland increased significantly. Most of the migrants have come from Iraq.
Officials in the Baltic States and Poland outlined the Belarusian authorities deliberately did not obstruct the crossing of the border in order to punish them for supporting the Belarusian opposition and sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The European Union describes this as a hybrid war and promises to help strengthen the EU’s external border.
The state of emergency on the Latvian-Belarusian border was declared on August 10, 2021. In September 2021, as a result of the crisis of migrants on the border of the European Union, the President of Latvia Egils Levits repeatedly called on the government to pay attention to the internal affairs system. This flow of migrants is a serious stress test for the State Border Guard. On December 7, 2021, the government decided to allocate additional support and funding to the Ministry of the Interior to cover expenses related to the measures implemented by the institutions subordinated to the Ministry on the Latvian-Belarusian border in the conditions of the migrant crisis.
Conclusions
As in 2020, also in 2021, measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis have been the focus of policymakers. In December 2021, more than 65 % of the population of Latvia completed the full course of vaccination, which is still insufficient to achieve collective immuno-resistance. The government in the difficult time period was additionally burdened by the migrant crisis on the Latvian-Belarusian border. The domestic internal affairs sector urgently needs additional support to adequately ensure national and public security. Strengthening internal security must made a multi-annual priority. The country’s external security has been strengthened for some time, but now it is important to take action to strengthen the country’s internal border. The outcomes of the 2021 local elections remind politicians of urgent actions that the government must take to develop measures on how to increase voter turnout and citizens interest in politics, as this may damage the reputation of the government and cause distrust towards politicians among the public. The government and the various industries are currently undergoing a huge stress test. Although society and businesses suffer from uncertainty in the long term, the health care system is currently taking the biggest blow as it must to be able to maintain its resilience after a lengthy and exhaustive battle with the coronavirus. The confidence of the society in the government during this crisis is low. Latvian politicians need to regain the trust of the people by listening to them, cooperating and allowing them to participate in the development of different public policies.
References
- Covid-19 GOV. (n.d.). Covid-19 vakcinācijas statistika. Covid-19.https://covid19.gov.lv/covid-19/covid-19-statistika/covid-19-vakcinacijas-statistika
- IE LAS. (2021a, June 15). Latvia political briefing: Outcomes of Latvia local elections 2021: record low voter turnout, new electoral districts and digital solutions – China-CEE Institute. China-CEE Institute. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://china-cee.eu/2021/06/15/latvia-political-briefing-outcomes-of-latvia-local-elections-2021-record-low-voter-turnout-new-electoral-districts-and-digital-solutions/
- IE LAS. (2021b, September 15). Latvia political briefing: The influx of migrants, unsolved murders and cyberattacks emphasise the necessity to enhance national security – China-CEE Institute. China-CEE Institute. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://china-cee.eu/2021/09/15/latvia-political-briefing-the-influx-of-migrants-unsolved-murders-and-cyberattacks-emphasise-the-necessity-to-enhance-national-security/
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