(hereinafter - President) Valdis Zatlers initiated the dissolution of the legislature on 28 May 2011. In a speech accompanying the initiative, the President referred to the Saeima’s refusal to lift the immunity against search in premises of a Member of Parliament (MP) A.Šlesers within an investigation carried out by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (hereinafter - CPCB), unreasoned failure to appoint two judges who had received all necessary clearance from judiciary institutions and a candidate for the post of the Prosecutor General (hereinafter - PG) nominated by the President of the Supreme Court (hereinafter - SC) as well as to the disproportionately strong political influence of the so-called oligarchs in general.9 The dissolution was confirmed by a popular vote in July 2011 directing the country towards early elections in September 2011. This was no surprise because the legislature enjoys little trust (only some 15% trusted the national parliament in November 2010).10 Parties, which were commonly associated with the oligarchs, suffered serious setbacks in the September 2011 elections but it remains to be seen whether these events bring about substantial changes and boost democratic engagement and integrity in the long term.
2. Socio-political foundations
Score: 75 / 100
Ever since the restoration of Latvia’s independence in 1991, the division between ethnic Latvians and the Russian-speaking population remain the deepest political cleavage. Although tensions have eased over years, the description of the Bertelsman Transformation Index 2010 still provides a telling picture: “A remaining concern is the de facto existence of two societies in Latvia. Russian speakers and Latvians occupy different information spaces, with language-specific newspapers, radio and TV channels, internet portals, and theatres for each community. Moreover, the higher production values of neighbouring Russian television also attract viewers. The impact of this was clearly seen in August 2008 following the Russian-Georgian conflict when the overwhelming majority of ethnic Latvians expressed sympathy for Georgians, while Russian speakers took the Russian side. This ethnic divide is also reflected in voting patterns – Russian speakers vote overwhelmingly for Russian-speaking parties, and Latvians for nationalist Latvian parties. This ethnic cleavage still dominates Latvian politics.”11 On the other hand, developments such as the election of a Russian-speaking politician a mayor of the capital city of Riga in 2009 provides evidence of somewhat increased power-sharing in Latvian politics. Other social cleavages are less clear-cut in Latvia. Occasional juxtaposition of rural versus urban interests has hardly turned into any major theme in Latvia politics. Class and religious cleavages are even less salient. It is actually the often blurred division between “corrupt” and “honest” politicians that has been a major marker of Latvia politics ever since 2002 when the first major election campaign with anti-corruption slogans was successfully launched. Otherwise the ideological profiles of most political parties tend to be obscure, designed to catch the broadest possible number of voters. Parties have weak links to particular social groups apart from the ethnic divide. Instead parties sometimes prefer clientelistic relations especially with local governments where some benefits from the state budget are traded for local support. Considering also the fact that political parties are less trusted (6% trust) than any state institution12 and perceived as institutions most affected by corruption (score 4.0 on the 9 Valdis Zatlers atlaiž 10. Saeimu (Valdis Zatlers Dissolves the 10the Saeima). Speech on the Latvian Television, 28 May 2011. http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=RJQIJFlUsDE&feature=related 10 Eurobarometer 74. 2010. gada rudens (Autumn of 2010). Nacionālais ziņojums Latvija (National Report Latvia). P.7. http://ec.europa.eu/public_ opinion/archives/eb/eb74/eb74_lv_lv_nat.pdf 11 Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2010 — Latvia Country Report. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2009. Rule of Law. http://www.bertelsmanntransformation-index.de/181.0.html?&L=1#chap3 12 Eurobarometer 74. 2010. gada rudens (Autumn of 2010). Nacionālais ziņojums Latvija (National Report Latvia). P.7. http://ec.europa.eu/public_ opinion/archives/eb/eb74/eb74_lv_lv_nat.pdf 21