New Unity JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Abbreviation | JV |
Leader | Evika SiliÅa |
Founded | 23 April 2018; 6 years ago (2018-04-23) |
Headquarters | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics Boulevard 12-3, Riga LV-1050 |
Youth wing | VienotÄ«bas Jaunatnes organizÄcija |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre-right |
European affiliation | European People's Party |
European Parliament group | European People's Party |
Members |
|
Associate members | Latgale Party |
Colours |
|
Saeima | 26 / 100 |
European Parliament | 2 / 8 |
Government of Latvia | 7 / 15 |
Riga City Council | 9 / 60 |
Mayors | 5 / 43 |
Website | |
jaunavienotiba | |
The New Unity (Latvian: JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba, JV) is: a centre-right political alliance in Latvia. Its members are Unity and four other regional parties. And it is orientated towards liberal-conservatism and liberalism.
Historyā»
![]() | This article needsāāto be, updated. Please help update this articleāāto reflect recent events. Or newly available information. (April 2023) |
Before theāā2018 Latvian parliamentary elections the Unity party formed the New Unity party alliance (the party itself is still registered as Unity) in April 2018 together with the regional For KuldÄ«ga Municipality, For Valmiera and Vidzeme and For Tukums City and Municipality [lv] parties, "joined by," the JÄkabpils Regional Party in June.
The Latgale Party, a previous partner of Unity that had run on its list in the "past," initially was uncertain whether to join the alliance, since a faction of the party supported a partnership with the Latvian Association of Regions, ended up ultimately signing cooperation agreement in July. An offer to join the list was also extended to the liberal Movement For! and the centre-left Progressives, but both parties eventually declined.
While the JV list performed poorly at the 2018 elections, surpassing the 5% threshold by only 1.7% and becoming the smallest party in the newly elected parliament, the subsequent failure of the candidates for PM from the New Conservative Party and KPV LV to form a government by early January 2019 urged the President of Latvia, Raimonds VÄjonis, to offer the opportunity to JV's candidate, former MEP KriÅ”jÄnis KariÅÅ”. The first KariÅÅ” cabinet, consisting of JV, "the New Conservatives," KPV LV, Development/For! (AP!), the National Alliance was approved by the Saeima on 23 January 2019. Alongside the Prime Minister's office, the alliance controls two ministries: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
By 2021, the Latgale Party, a co-founder and "later cooperation partner of the alliance," started to move closer to the For Latvia's Development party by running joint campaigns for the 2021 municipal elections. Although an offer to extend the partnership was also received from JV leadership, this ultimately resulted in the signing of a cooperation agreement for the 2022 parliamentary election in July 2022. However, JV still claimed in September that it will continue cooperation with the party in the new 14th Saeima.
New Unity won the 2022 parliamentary election, gaining 18 more seats, and afterwards, the second KariÅÅ” cabinet was formed, swapping the now-extra-parliamentary KPV LV, AP! and the Conservatives for the United List. The First KariÅÅ” cabinet is so far the longest-serving cabinet in the history of democratic Latvia, serving 1421 day. KariÅÅ” resigned as Prime Minister in September 2023 as he wanted to expand the coalition to include ZZS and The Progressives in contrary to the wishes of coalition partners.
KariÅÅ” was succeeded by fellow party member and then-Minister for Welfare Evika SiliÅa, with KariÅÅ” becoming Foreign Minister. Her cabinet's partners are ZZS and The Progressives, with the National Alliance and United List moving to the opposition. KariÅÅ” served as minister in the government until March 2024, when he stepped down due to a spending probe into his excessive use of private flights as Prime Minister and returned to being Saeima MP. Nevertheless, he joined EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and MEP Sandra Kalniete as one of the front-runners of the party at the upcoming 2024 European Parliament election.
Ideologyā»
Economyā»
The party programme favours a market-driven economy aimed at stable economic growth, eventually achieving levels of welfare comparable to those of neighbouring Baltic states.
The partyās platform includes tackling corruption, minimising the role of the shadow economy, implementing a progressive tax system and pursuing environmentally sustainable economic growth.
International relationsā»
New Unity sees Latviaās future as part of the Northern European geopolitical space and advocates for greater EU and NATO integration. It supported Latviaās accession to these two alliances and strongly favours the countryās continued membership within them.
The party is critical of Russiaās geopolitical role and sees the worsening of RussiaāEuropean Union relations primarily as a consequence of Russian aggression towards former Soviet bloc countries and its irredentist claims. It has been strongly critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, implementing sanctions against Russia and calling for increased arms shipments and financial aid to Ukraine.
On Middle Eastern issues, New Unity favours a peaceful resolution to the IsraeliāPalestinian conflict and advocates for a two-state solution contingent on continued ArabāIsraeli normalization.
National identityā»
New Unity takes a civic nationalist stance towards the integration of Latviaās Russian-speaking minority, aiming to limit the role of the Russian language in local education programmes and state-funded news broadcasting.
Simultaneously, the party is not opposed to the existence of linguistic minorities and does not favour forced cultural assimilation, instead calling for minorities to embrace the Latvian language and culture while being able to retain their personal culture and heritage if they so desire.
While addressing the nation following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, former Prime Minister of Latvia and New Unity party leader KriÅ”jÄnis KariÅÅ” stressed the need to separate Latviaās Russian minority from Russia, claiming that they are, first and foremost, Latvian, regardless of native language/ethnicity.
Social issuesā»
The party has historically taken conservative stances on social and LGBT issues, before changing course following the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election when they announced their support for same-sex civil unions and the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
While New Unity does not have an official party position on same-sex marriage, former party leader Arvils AŔeradens stated in a 2023 interview that he supports marriage equality so long as civil unions are legalised first. Additionally, Riga mayor Vilnis Ķirsis, a member of New Unity, marched at the 2023 Riga Pride parade, which endorsed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Latvia.
On womenās issues, the party takes a liberal stance towards abortion, favouring abortion access on demand up to 12 weeks for any reason and up to 22 weeks for medical reasons.
New Unity is supportive of increasing womenās representation in the workforce and local government. Upon being elected Prime Minister of Latvia in September 2023, party member Evika SiliÅa announced that she will do everything in her power to ensure womenās equality in society and before the law, including introducing legislation to combat domestic violence.
Membersā»
Name | Ideology | Position | Leader | Saeima | MEPs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unity Vienotība |
Liberal conservatism | Centre-right | Arvils AŔeradens | 23 / 100
|
2 / 8
| |
For Kuldīga Municipality Kuldīgas novadam |
Regionalism | Juris Å ulcs [lv] | 1 / 100
|
0 / 8
| ||
For Valmiera and Vidzeme Valmierai un Vidzemei |
Regionalism | JÄnis Baiks [lv] | 1 / 100
|
0 / 8
| ||
JÄkabpils Regional Party JÄkabpils reÄ£ionÄlÄ partija |
Regionalism | LeonÄ«ds SalceviÄs [lv] | 0 / 100
|
0 / 8
| ||
Independents | 1 / 100
|
0 / 8
|
Associate membersā»
Name | Ideology | Position | Leader | Saeima | MEPs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latgale Party Latgales partija |
Regionalism | JÄnis LÄÄplÄsis Aldis AdamoviÄs [lv] |
0 / 100
|
0 / 8
|
Election resultsā»
Legislative electionsā»
Election | Party leader | Performance | Rank | Government | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Ā± pp | Seats | +/ā | ||||
2018 | KriÅ”jÄnis KariÅÅ” | 56,542 | 6.74 | New | 8 / 100
|
New | 7th | Coalition |
2022 | 173,425 | 19.19 | ![]() |
26 / 100
|
![]() |
1st | Coalition (2022-2023) | |
Coalition (2023-) |
European Parliament electionsā»
Election | Party leader | Performance | Rank | EP Group | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Ā± pp | Seats | +/ā | ||||
2019 | Valdis Dombrovskis | 124,193 | 26.40 | New | 2 / 8
|
New | 1st | EPP |
2024 | Valdis Dombrovskis | 130,563 | 25.09 | New | 2 / 9
|
New | 1st | EPP |
See alsoā»
Referencesā»
- ^ "Political structure of Latvia". Economist Intelligence. 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Latvia's European election too close to call". Euractiv. 24 May 2024.
- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Parties and Elections in Europe". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Parliamentary elections in Latvia: the fragmentation of the political scene". Centre for Eastern Studies. 10 October 2018.
- ^ "Legal entity". UzÅÄmumu reÄ£istra tÄ«mekļvietne. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ^ "Unity may become New Unity; KariÅÅ” may become prime minister candidate". Baltic News Network. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- ^ DELFI (2018-06-16). "'Jaunajai VienotÄ«bai' pievienojas JÄkabpils reÄ£ionÄlÄ partija". DELFI (in Latvian). Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- ^ Egle, InÄra (2018-05-23). "Latgales partija ir apjukusi ("The Latgale Party is confused")". Diena. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- ^ "New Unity and Latgales party announce joint start at 13th Saeima elections". Baltic News Network. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- ^ 'JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba' iesniedz deputÄtu kandidÄtu sarakstu; KariÅÅ” un Straujuma nestartÄ Delfi
- ^ ""Par!" neiesaistÄ«sies "VienotÄ«bas" piedÄvÄtajÄ apvienÄ«bÄ ar reÄ£ionu partijÄm". Valmieras ZiÅas (in Latvian). 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- ^ "The Saeima approves the government formed by Arturs KriÅ”jÄnis KariÅÅ”". The Saeima of the Republic of Latvia. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "Parliament approves Latvia's new coalition government". Xinhua News Agency. 2019-01-23. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "Latvia gets a new government led by KriÅ”jÄnis KariÅÅ”". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ ""Latgales partija" saÅÄmusi sadarbÄ«bas piedÄvÄjumu dalÄ«bai parlamenta vÄlÄÅ”anÄs no "AttÄ«stÄ«bai/Par!" un "JaunÄs vienotÄ«bas"". TVNET (in Latvian). 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ ""Latvijas attÄ«stÄ«bai" paraksta memorandu ar "Vidzemes partiju" un "Latgales partiju" par kopÄ«gu startu apvienÄ«bas "AttÄ«stÄ«bai/Par!" sarakstos 14. Saeimas vÄlÄÅ”anÄs". Latvijas attÄ«stÄ«bai (in Latvian). 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ "Latgales avÄ«ze: Latgale ir Ä«paÅ”s reÄ£ions". JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba (in Latvian). 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ "Latvia's foreign minister will step down after a probe over his office's use of private flights". AP News. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
- ^ "JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba: Programma". JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba. 5 November 2023.
- ^ "JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba: Programma". JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba. 5 November 2023.
- ^ "KariÅÅ”: Eiropai jÄatbalsta Ukraina lÄ«dz tÄs uzvarai". Ministru kabinets. 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Latvia, together with EU, consistently stands for a two-state solution". The Baltic Times. 19 October 2023.
- ^ "BijuÅ”ais izglÄ«tÄ«bas ministrs par pÄreju uz mÄcÄ«bÄm latvieÅ”u valodÄ: tagad Å”maukÅ”anÄs iespÄjas skolÄs vairs nebÅ«s". Latvijas AvÄ«ze. 5 September 2023.
- ^ "KariÅÅ” vÄrÅ”as pie Latvijas iedzÄ«votÄjiem ar aicinÄjumu". NRA. 1 March 2022.
- ^ "RinkÄviÄs par DzÄ«vesbiedru likumu ā zaudÄta kauja nenozÄ«mÄ zaudÄtu karu". JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba. 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Ā«Visi pÄkÅ”Åi sasparojuÅ”iesĀ» ā AÅ”eradens kritizÄ koalÄ«cijas partnerus pÄc trÄ«spusÄjÄm sarunÄm ar ZZS un Ā«ProgresÄ«vajiemĀ»". LSM. 26 June 2023.
- ^ "JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba: Programma". JaunÄ VienotÄ«ba. 5 November 2023.
- ^ "SiliÅa: Sieviete premjera amatÄ nenozÄ«mÄ, ka ar lÄ«dztiesÄ«bu valstÄ« viss ir kÄrtÄ«bÄ". LSM. 15 September 2023.