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Latvia First

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Latvia First
Latvija pirmajā vietā
AbbreviationLPV
ChairpersonAinārs Šlesers
FoundersAinārs Šlesers
Jūlija Stepaņenko
Linda Liepiņa
Ļubova Švecova
Vilis Krištopans
Founded14 August 2021; 4 years ago (2021-08-14)
HeadquartersMūkusalas iela 41, Riga
Membership (2026)Increase 1,853[1]
IdeologyNational conservatism[2]
Right-wing populism[2][3]
Political positionRight-wing to far-right[4][5]
European affiliationECPM (2024–2025)[6]
Patriots.eu (since 2025)
European Parliament groupPatriots for Europe[7][8]
Colours  Burgundy
Saeima
8 / 100
European Parliament
1 / 9
Website
latvijapirmajavieta.lv

Latvia First (Latvian: Latvija pirmajā vietā, LPV) is a right-wing populist[9] political party in Latvia.[10][11]

It was founded in August 2021 by businessman and former member of parliament, former Minister of Transport, former vice-mayor of Riga, Ainārs Šlesers. The party board chair is Ainārs Šlesers. The precursor to the party, the organisation Latvia — First (Latvian: Latvija — pirmajā vietā), was first registered on 1 July 2021,[12] before the party itself was established at a founding congress on 14 August in Riga.[13] The party was registered by the Latvian Register of Enterprises on 10 September 2021.[14]

History

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In spring 2021, businessman and former Minister of Transport and Minister of Economy Ainārs Šlesers announced that he would return to politics by founding a new party to contest the 2022 parliamentary election. On 1 July, he founded the organisation "Latvia Comes First" (Latvija – pirmajā vietā).[15]

The founding party congress was held in Riga on 14 August 2021. Jūlija Stepaņenko was elected to chair the party board, as well as to be the party's candidate for the role of President of Latvia. Ainārs Šlesers became the party's candidate for the Prime Minister's seat, and former MP Linda Liepiņa was chosen as the party's candidate for Speaker of the Saeima.[13]

Right after the founding party congress, LPV announced its support for the 18 August protest against compulsory vaccination organized by the Law and Order party. The protest was announced in response to the government bill that would make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for those working in healthcare, social-care, and education sectors and give employers the right to fire unvaccinated people.[16] An hour before the start of the protest, LPV organized an election rally near the Freedom Monument, the crowd of several hundred party supporters then headed to the Riga Castle, where the main event took place.[17]

The party subsequently organized two more protests against 'mandatory' vaccination on 18 September and 2 October. During the September protest, the party leaders unveiled an ultimatum to the President of Latvia Egils Levits, asking him to stop restricting people's freedoms, save 'voluntary' vaccination, and change the government.[18] Levits was given two weeks to satisfy the demands, and, if not, the party promised to recall the President. Even though none of the demands were met after two weeks, no initiative on recalling Levits has been announced; instead, on 2 October, the party organized another protest near the Freedom Monument.[19]

The party temporarily had two deputies in the Saeima – Jūlija Stepaņenko and Ļubova Švecova. Both were elected from the list of the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" in the 2018 Saeima elections. The party advocates for closer economic ties to Russia.[20]

During Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 4 March 2022, both were expelled from the party, because Stepaņenko, the party's chairman of the board, protested the party's extended board meeting to discuss the party's attitude to the war in Ukraine and its consequences in Latvia. On 3 March, Švecova did not vote in the Saeima to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for the European Union.[21]

Members of the Honor to serve Riga party ran as candidates on the party ticket for the 2022 election.[22]

In June 2022, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau found that campaign materials distributed by Latvia First and its leader Ainars Šlesers constituted political agitation and concluded that the party had violated campaign finance and disclosure requirements.[23]

In November 2024, Latvia First leader Ainārs Šlesers endorsed Donald Trump's peace proposals in the Russo-Ukrainian War, suggesting that "a bad peace" was better than "a good war".[24]

Ahead of the 2025 Latvian municipal elections, Latvia First leader Ainārs Šlesers campaigned on a populist platform promising rapid economic development, criticizing the political establishment, and pledging to transform Riga into the "Dubai of the North". His campaign focused on addressing the city's economic stagnation through infrastructure investment, tourism revival, and urban development while appealing to both Latvian- and Russian-speaking voters.[25] The party won the most votes in Riga with 18.7%, however, it challenged the Riga municipal election results, alleging failures in the electronic voting system and irregularities in vote counting, and called for the results to be annulled,[26] which was rejected by The Administrative Regional Court.[27]

Ideology and policies

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Latvia First has been described as populist and "quasi-Trumpian".[28] According to its programme, Latvia First advocates prioritizing Latvia's national interests while supporting continued membership in NATO and the European Union. The party combines socially conservatism policies, including support for traditional family values and measures to address demographic decline, with proposals for lower taxes, deregulation, and investment in technology and infrastructure. It also supports stricter border controls, increased spending on national defence and internal security, and anti-corruption measures in public procurement.[29]

Election results

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Legislative elections

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Election Party leader Performance Rank Government
Votes % ± pp Seats +/–
2022 Ainārs Šlesers 57,033 6.31 New
9 / 100
 New 6th Opposition

European Parliament elections

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2024 Vilis Krištopans 32,034 6.23 (#7)
1 / 9
 New PfE

References

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  1. ↑ "The People and the Party are United! Which Parties in Latvia are the Most Numerous?". Baltijas Balss. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 Local populists or Russian agents of influence? The strength of pro-Kremlin influence in the Baltics (PDF). College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław. p. 5. The national-conservative and right-wing populist political party LPV – Latvia First
  3. ↑ Aleksandra Semendjajeva (13 June 2024). "Latvia does it again: the right-wing prevails". Foundation for European Progressive Studies. Retrieved 9 June 2026. Right-wing populist Latvia First with 6.16 per cent (did 'not participate in 2019)
  4. ↑ Paananen, Kerkko (29 March 2025). "Baltic Trumpists at Crossroads of History — Stand with Free Europe or Align with Fascist Russia?". Nordic Defence Review. Retrieved 9 June 2026. The most successful among them so far are the far-right Latvia First (LPV) and the openly pro-Russian For Stability.
  5. ↑ Simeonova, Antonia (25 June 2024). "The far-right party in Latvia has a 3-point political plan". fakti.bg. Retrieved 9 June 2026. The far-right party "Latvia First" is one of the seven political parties and coalitions in Latvia that will have a deputy in the new European Parliament.
  6. ↑ "ECPM: Our members and associates". ecpm.info. Retrieved 9 June 2024.[permanent dead link]
  7. ↑ "Far-right Patriots group springs to third force in European Parliament". Euronews. 8 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Latvian MEP joins right-wing populist group in European Parliament". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. LETA. 9 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Latest party ratings see New Unity, National Alliance gathering momentum in Latvia". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "September party ratings suggest voters are starting to wake up". eng.lsm.lv. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Latvia". Europe Elects. 2021.
  12. ↑ "Biedrība "Latvija – pirmajā vietā"" (in Latvian). Latvian Register of Enterprises. July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Latvian ex-Minister of Transport founds a new political party and gathers allies". Baltic News Network. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "LATVIJA PIRMAJĀ VIETĀ". www.firmas.lv (in Latvian). 10 September 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  15. ↑ "Latvian ex-minister to establish party after criminal charges". Baltic News Network. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  16. ↑ "Compulsory vaccination in Latvia: who and when?". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  17. ↑ "Thousands protest against 'compulsory' vaccination in Rīga". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Vairāk nekā 1000 protestētāju izsaka ultimātu Levitam" [More than 1000 protesters express an ultimatum to Levits]. Neatkarīga Rīta Avīze (in Latvian). 18 September 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Rīgā notiks Šlesera plānotā protesta akcija" [A protest event is planned in Riga]. Skaties (in Latvian). 2 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "The Russia-Ukraine War and Right-Wing Populism in Latvia". populismstudies.org. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  21. ↑ "No Šlesera partijas izslēdz Stepaņenko un Švecovu". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "Latvia". Europe Elects. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "Corruption watchdog swoops on Šlesers' party campaign". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  24. ↑ "Better a bad peace than a good war – Slesers". The Baltic Times. 8 November 2024.
  25. ↑ Chmielewski, Bartosz (4 June 2025). ""Make Riga Great Again? The Latvian Municipal Election Race"". The Geopolitics and Security Studies Center. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  26. ↑ Ambote, Sintija; Kairis, Krišs (16 June 2022). "Party protests results of Rīga election, despite finishing first". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  27. ↑ Anstrate, Vita; Kincis, Jānis (26 June 2022). "Court rejects Latvia First's claim against municipal election results". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  28. ↑ Hiršs, Mārtiņš (1 June 2026). "Study shows Latvians are 'liberal', 'conservative' and often both at once". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 6 June 2026. Latvia First Party (LPV, regarded as populist and quasi-Trumpian))
  29. ↑ Petraviča, Ramona (8 November 2024). "'Latvia First' (LPV): rising political influence and a potential leading force in Latvia's new parliament". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
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