Populist Surge Fails to Oust Latvia's Pro-Western Centrists
- PM says other newcomers can join existing three-way coalition
- Russia-leaning party tops vote but unlikely to form government
Photographer: Ilmars Znotins/AFP via Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
A populist surge wasn’t enough to dislodge the pro-Western centrist parties that have ruled Latvia for more than 25 years.
While the governing coalition lost ground at elections Saturday, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said newly formed parties with similar ideologies can join to represent a majority in parliament. That would once again lock out the Russia-leaning Harmony, which early results suggested had won the most votes for a third straight time. Anti-establishment newcomer KPV LV, which had refused to exclude an alliance with Harmony, was poised to finish second.