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National Alliance (Latvia)

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National Alliance
Nacionālā apvienība
AbbreviationNA
ChairmanRaivis Dzintars
FounderRoberts Zīle
Founded4 July 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-04)[1] (electoral alliance)
23 July 2011; 13 years ago (2011-07-23) (party)
Merger of
Headquarters3rd floor, 11 Kaļķu Street, Riga LV-1050
NewspaperNacionālā Neatkarība
Youth wingNacionālās apvienības jauniešu organizācija[2]
Membership (2017)Increase 1,094[3]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing
European affiliationEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Party
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
Colours
  •   Carmine
  •   Gold
Saeima
13 / 100
European Parliament
2 / 8
Government of Latvia
0 / 14
Riga City Council
5 / 60
Mayors
5 / 43
Website
nacionalaapvieniba.lv

The National Alliance (Latvian: Nacionālā apvienība, NA), officially the National Alliance "All for Latvia!" – "For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" (Latvian: Nacionālā apvienība "Visu Latvijai!" – "Tēvzemei un Brīvībai"/LNNK), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Latvia. A right-wing party, it has also been placed as a part of the radical right on the political spectrum.

It was formed as an electoral alliance for the 2010 Latvian parliamentary election between the For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK and All for Latvia! parties. It won eight seats, placing it fourth among all parties. In July 2011, it merged into a single political party under the leadership of Gaidis Bērziņš and Raivis Dzintars. In the 2014 Latvian parliamentary election, it again increased its seats to seventeen, and entered a centre-right coalition, along with Unity and the Union of Greens and Farmers under Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma.

It has participated in every government of Latvia from the 2011 Latvian parliamentary election until the Siliņa cabinet to prevent Harmony Centre from leading the coalition. It is also a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR) and its two MEPs, Roberts Zīle and Rihards Kols, sit in the ECR group in the European Parliament. The party controls the town and city governments of Ogre, Bauska, Smiltene, Sigulda, and Talsi.

History

[edit]

It was founded as an electoral alliance in 2010 by the national-conservative For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK and the far-right All for Latvia! after the two parties were refused entry into the Unity alliance.[4][5] The loose alliance was transformed into a unitary party on 23 July 2011.[6] In the 2010 Latvian parliamentary election, the alliance won 8 seats.[7] As part of the outgoing government, it was involved in negotiations after the election to renew the coalition but was vetoed by the Society for Political Change,[8] which had not been part of the government but had joined the Unity alliance.

In May 2011, the party supported the re-election of Valdis Zatlers in the 2011 Latvian presidential election.[9] The alliance became a single united party on 23 July 2011. At the 2011 Latvian parliamentary election, the National Alliance won fourteen seats, an increase of six on the previous year, making it the fourth-largest party in the Saeima. After extensive negotiations with an aim to avoid Kremlin supporting powers from gaining seats in government,[10][11] it joined a centre-right government with Unity and Zatlers' Reform Party, with the party's Gaidis Bērziņš as Minister for Justice and Žaneta Jaunzeme-Grende as Minister for Culture.[10]

On 23 August 2013, theAll for Latvia! wing of National Alliance signed the Bauska Declaration together with the Conservative People's Party of Estonia and Lithuanian Nationalist and Republican Union calling for a new national awakening of the Baltic states and warning about perceived threats posed by cultural Marxism, "postmodernistic multiculturalism", "destructive liberalism", and Russian imperialism.[12] The merging period of the two founding parties was ended on the National Alliance's third congress on 7 December 2013, finally creating one unitary party.[13][14]

In the 2014 Latvian parliamentary election, the party gained 17 seats and entered a centre-right coalition, along with Unity and the Union of Greens and Farmers under Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma.[15] The party succeeded to include several points in the Declaration of the government and coalition treaty, such as to begin gradual Latvianization of the bilingual educational system starting from 2018; to limit the residence permit acquisition programme established in 2010, increase state support to family values and the demography programme; to make national identity, Latvian language, and Latvian culture as a priority as it is defined in the Constitution of Latvia; opening of natural gas market in order to end the Gazprom monopoly in the Latvian energy market; veto rights to any decision which could weaken the positions of the Latvian language.[16]

After the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election, in which the party won 13 seats, Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš was tasked by Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis with forming the next government following the failures of previous nominees Bordāns and Gobzems in a contentious negotiation process.[17] Kariņš took office as prime minister on 23 January 2019, leading a broad centre-right coalition of five conservative and liberal parties (Kariņš cabinet) that included National Alliance, along with Development/For!, New Conservative Party, Kariņš' Unity, and Who Owns the State? parties.

Ideology and policies

[edit]

The National Alliance is a national-conservative party,[18] as well as socially conservative.[19] It has also been described as right-wing populist or nationalist,[7] and placed on the right wing,[20][21] or radical right,[22][23] of the political spectrum.[24][25][26] In its platform, the party lists its core priorities as protecting Latvian language, culture, and heritage. An economically liberal party,[27] it takes a pro-West stance in foreign policy, supports economic reform to promote business competition, and calls for a "non-taxable minimum pension" for all citizens.[28] In 2021, the party submitted to the Saeima a draft law regarding an amendment to the Constitution, which intended to strictly define the concept of family as a union of a male and a female person.[29]

It has taken right-wing populist positions,[30][31] and it actively opposes immigration, both the residence permit selling programme and the refugee quota system intended by the European Union (EU), emphasizing the already large number of Soviet-era settlers in Latvia.[32] It has compared the modern advocates of immigration with those who supported the planned mass immigration to the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, which affected the demographics of Latvia, such as the expansion of the Russian-speaking minority.[33]

In parallel to its national-conservative rhetoric, the National Alliance has denounced ethnic nationalism, notably expelling former Mārupe City Council MP Raivis Zeltīts from the party for his alleged past involvement in online ethnonationalist and white supremacist forums.[34] Party leader Raivis Dzintars has instead endorsed a vision of cultural nationalism, including stating in an interview to the Delfi news agency prior to the 2022 Latvian parliamentary election: “We have always been and will be for a Latvian Latvia, but we will never divide our citizens by their ethnicity or ancestry. What we care about is people’s values, language, culture – The National Alliance has had Latvians of various ethnic backgrounds in our ranks, and that is exactly the way it should be.” [35]

The party was the only one of the leading coalition partners that completely refused both the refugee quota system, as well as voluntary acceptation of refugees.[36][37] In August 2015, the party took part in organizing the massive anti-immigration rally in Rīga.[38] This anti-immigration position was accented in the annual foreign affair debates in the Saeima, also turning against perceived liberal immigration policy and political correctness in the EU.[39] The party supports the establishment of a national day of remembrance for the Latvian Legion, a mostly conscription-based military formation within Nazi Germany's Waffen-SS, arguing that they were not Nazis but rather martyred liberation fighters resisting both the Soviet and Nazi occupations, who were later acquitted at the Nuremberg trials. The Saeima has rejected proposals by the National Alliance to formally establish it as a holiday in 2013, 2018, and 2019.[40][41][42] MPs from the National Alliance are regular participants in the annual commemoration events for the Latvian Legion.[43]

In foreign policy, the party wants to participate in what it calls the "Western geopolitical space". It supports Latvian membership of NATO.[28] The party takes a Eurosceptic, or what they describe as Eurorealist, stance towards the EU, by opposing bureaucracy and centralization of powers around Brussels, arguing that the EU should be limited to a trading block as opposed to a bureaucratic political organization, and that member states must work to fight crime and defend European culture together but not impose on domestic decision making and political sovereignty of nations, and abandon what the party calls the EU's "everything for all" approach.[44] Following Brexit, the National Alliance stated that the UK's decision must be respected and the country needs to remain an important ally of Europe and Latvia, and that the EU must not retaliate against Britain and instead pursue a free trade agreement with Britain.[44] Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the party has taken a pro-Ukrainian position and suggested a stricter anti-Kremlin position for the Latvian government,[45][46] as well as the Council of Europe.[47]

Election results

[edit]

Legislative elections

[edit]
Election Party leader Performance Rank Government
Votes % ± pp Seats +/–
2010 Roberts Zīle 74,029 7.84 New
8 / 100
 New 4th Opposition
2011 Raivis Dzintars 127,208 14.01 Increase 6.17
14 / 100
 Increase 6 Steady 4th Coalition
2014 151,567 16.72 Increase 2.71
17 / 100
 Increase 3 Steady 4th Coalition
2018 Roberts Zīle 92,963 11.08 Decrease 5.64
13 / 100
 Decrease 4 Decrease 5th Coalition
2022 Raivis Dzintars 84,939 9.40 Decrease 1.68
13 / 100
 Steady 0 Increase 4th Coalition (2022–2023)
Opposition (2023–)

European Parliament elections

[edit]
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2014 Roberts Zīle 63,229 17.56 (#3)
1 / 8
 New ECR
2019 77,591 16.49 (#3)
2 / 8
 Increase 1
2024 114,858 22.32 (#2)
2 / 9
 Steady 0

Riga City Council

[edit]
Election Votes % Seats +/–
2013 40,920 17.86 (#2)
12 / 60
2017 23,135 9.25 (#4)
6 / 60
 Decrease 6
2020 16,435 9.64 (#4)
7 / 60
 Increase 1

See also

[edit]

Literature

[edit]
  • Auers, Daunis; Kasekamp, Andres (2013). "Comparing Radical-Right Populism in Estonia and Latvia". Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. London/New York: Bloomsbury. pp. 235–248. ISBN 978-1-78093-343-6.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "VL/TB/LNNK dibināšanas kongresā sola stiprināt latviešu valodu". Delfi. 4 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Par mums - Jaunieši - Nacionālā apvienība VL-TB/LNNK". National Alliance. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  3. ^ "'Nacionālā Neatkarība', parties monthly newspaper" (PDF) (in Latvian). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. ^ Kaža, Juris (14 August 2018). "Who is who in upcoming Latvian parliamentary elections". Re:Baltica. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  5. ^ Greenhalgh, Nathan (31 May 2010). "Unity forgoes merging with far-right". Baltic Reports. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Latvian political parties undergo major upheaval". The Baltic Times. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  7. ^ a b Bogushevitch, Tatyana; Dimitrovs, Aleksejs (November 2010). "Elections in Latvia: status quo for minorities remains" (PDF). Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. 9 (1): 72–89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  8. ^ Strautmanis, Andris (25 October 2010). "Veto ousts nationalists from new government; 2 parties remain in talks". Latvians Online. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Supporters line up behind Zatlers". The Baltic Times. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Raivis Dzintars: triju latvisko partiju koalīcija ir reāla". Kasjauns.lv. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Reboot in Riga". The Economist. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Bauska Declaration". National Alliance. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Nacionālā apvienība apvienosies vienā partijā un cer kļūt par valdošo partiju nākamajā Saeimā | Jaunākās Ziņas Latvijā". Focus.lv. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Ir – Nacionālā apvienība apvienosies vienā partijā". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Latvian Saeima approves of the new Straujuma government". The Baltic Course. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  16. ^ Lāns, Arnolds (22 January 2014). "NA panāktais koalīcijas līgumā un valdības deklarācijā". National Alliance. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Krišjānis Kariņš nominated to be Latvia's next Prime Minister". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  18. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Latvia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Detail". Bti-project.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Pro-Russia party wins most votes in Latvia election". BBC News. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  21. ^ Ijabs, Ivars (October 2018). "2018 Parliamentary Elections in Latvia" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  22. ^ Auers, Daunis; Kasekamp, Andres (2013). "Comparing Radical-Right Populism in Estonia and Latvia". Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. London/New York: Bloomsbury. pp. 235–248. ISBN 978-1-78093-343-6.
  23. ^ Braghiroli, Stefano; Petsinis, Vassilis (8 August 2019). "Between party-systems and identity-politics: the populist and radical right in Estonia and Latvia". European Politics and Society. 20 (4): 431–449. doi:10.1080/23745118.2019.1569340. hdl:10062/64608. ISSN 2374-5118. S2CID 159411323.
  24. ^ Fairclough, Gordon (18 February 2012). "Language Vote Refuels Latvia Tension". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  25. ^ Martyn-Hemphill, Richard (7 December 2015). "Latvia Government Falls as Prime Minister Quits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  26. ^ Rettman, Andrew (26 May 2019). "Turnout up in Slovakia, with pro-EU liberals scoring high". EUobserver. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  27. ^ E. L. (18 September 2011). "Snap election falls flat". The Economist. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  28. ^ a b "Nacionālās apvienības VL-TB/LNNK programma".
  29. ^ "National Alliance wants Constitution of Latvia to strictly define 'family'".
  30. ^ Pausch, Robert (4 February 2015). "Populismus oder Extremismus? – Radikale Parteien in Europa". Die Zeit. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  31. ^ Wodak, Ruth (2013). Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse. A&C Black. p. 246.
  32. ^ "NĒ – bēgļu kvotām". Nacionalaapvieniba.lv. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  33. ^ Eglājs, Ritvars. "The new pro-migrant propaganda is just like the old one". National Alliance. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  34. ^ "Senior National Alliance figure apologises for "cloud" of far-right messages". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  35. ^ "Nacionālā apvienība 'Nākamais, lūdzu!': 'apmaldījušies okupanti' un 'tukšs laiks' parlamentā". Delfi (web portal). 15 September 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  36. ^ "Majority of Latvian politicians are against refugee quotas". Baltic News Network. LETA. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  37. ^ "Latvian government adopts position on refugees". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  38. ^ "Nationalists plan anti-refugee protest". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  39. ^ "Latvia has the duty to save Europe from drowning in the swamp of political correctness - National Alliance's opinion in debates about annual report on foreign policy 2015". National Alliance. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  40. ^ "Saeima did not make March 16 a national commemoration day". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  41. ^ LETA (15 March 2018). "Saeima rejects National Alliance's proposal to make 16 March an official remembrance day". Baltic News Network. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  42. ^ "National Alliance repeats March 16 memorial request". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  43. ^ "Many MPs from Latvian National Alliance to participate in March 16 events". The Baltic Course. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  44. ^ a b "Ārpolitica". Nacionālā apvienība VL-TB/LNNK. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  45. ^ "Jāņa Dombravas runa, Saeimas ikgadējās ārlietu debatēs pārstāvot NA frakcijas viedokli". Nacionalaapvieniba.lv. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  46. ^ "Edvīns Šnore EDSO PA nosoda Krievijas agresiju un aicina Ukrainai sniegt militāru palīdzību". National Alliance. 23 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  47. ^ "We must strongly support Ukraine and the observation of international law - Murniece". The Baltic Times. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
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