Last week in Latvia has been rather exciting as EP elections are approaching. More and more lists of candidates have been announced and the probable Latvia`s member list in EP is getting clearer.
There are not many surprises as most of the top members of the top parties have already applied for this position five years ago and half of them being elected. Other part has actively showed their interest about European issues since then and now they rather seem fitting for this position than not. (Surely there are some rather disconnected ones, as ex political prisoner Alfrēds Rubiks.)
Most of the candidates are from so cold old generation politicians. It means that they are experienced in Latvia`s political sphere, they are well known but in fact boring. I do respect them and am thankful for their activities during independence regaining period and later on. And now they could be productive also in EU level but this position is not making them look as stepping forwards rather downwards in their careers. EP is like a safe place for knowledge broadening five year work, with lots of traveling and new political contacts. But it seems that after that they would look for even more quite place. This profile politician is not the one i would like to see in the seat of EP. I would like to see active new generation politicians who have at least some illusive aims and interest to be a part of this decision making apparatus. The ones who would give speeches, would propose law incentives, would meet with interest groups and would listen and react.
Our current politicians have stayed rather silent then reacting.. so maybe next time.
Still a little surprise came. There is a current EP deputy who is a candidate also for the new elections, absolutely fitting this old generation profile but his actions are sending other kind of message. He - Guntars Krasts - has changed a party of belonging from our nationalistically thinking party TB/LNNK towards European Libertas party and also created a branch of it in Latvia.
I have to admit that before this politician chosed Libertas, it has been unknown to me. I think that the most characteristic trait of this party and which should express the most is it`s objection to Lisbon treaty. It means that this party is an oppositional party and it can try to attract the rather extreme end of the skeptical voters of EU.
In Latvia`s case it wouldn`t be so much about the political beliefs of the party, as almost no one have ever read a party`s program. In the best case a voter can remember what have happened in the last five years but in the most popular case they will choose to vote for a person whose name they remember, know and can associate with something a bit positive.
Probably not so many will look at Liberta Latvia election list and choose to tick this EP deputy to make him continue his work. But somehow I hope this politician and interestingly also ex prime minister (12 years ago) will be kept for another testing round to see what he can do and if he still finds Europe attractive also afterwords.
I think it is interesting that he is ready to risk his political career for joining in Latvia unknown European party. It is a first case like that and it seems enthusiastic. He thinks one step forward across Latvia`s borders, probably thinking that some borders are not borders anymore.
(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
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