RIGA — Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga sent a good luck message to Unity at its inaugural congress, the closest the popular former president has come to endorsing a political party.

She also expressed congratulations to Unity, which represents a merger of three parties across the political spectrum, for managing the “wise, strategic and very important” consolidation at a critical moment in Latvian history. She urged collegiality and teamwork, suggesting that the sum of the [private_supervisor]parts is greater than any individual.

“You must be more than an arithmetic sum of separate forces,” she said in her address. “You must create synergy that would allow your potential and abilities to grow exponentially.”

The former president seized on a Winter Olympics metaphor, saying, “This pre-election period is not an era of solo figure skaters. Latvia needs a solid ice hockey team that can think strategically, act tactically and above all, work hard and cooperate in order to win.”

The message was a small victory for Unity, which is shaping up to be the only new political force for the October national elections. Unity combines the right-wing Civil Union, the center-right New Era, which currently controls top posts in the government, and the upstart center-left Society for Different Politics.

Unity combines both seasoned politicians such as Sandra Kalniete and Aigars Štokenbergs and relatively new faces such as Aleksejs Loskutovs, former anti-corruption bureau chief, and Sarmīte Ēlerte, former editor in chief of the daily Diena.

In fact, Unity combines opposing political interests that are bound to clash on key issues, though the party’s founders stressed change and the need to counter the forces of complacency in Latvian politics – i.e., the oligarch.

“The privatization scams, political business projects and finally the irresponsible policies of the ‘fat years’ have created a massive gap of alienation between the authorities and the people,” said Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis at the congress. “This is why I would also like to touch on the need to restrict the role of money and oligarchs in politics.”

Unity’s emergence on the political arena also coincides with the rising star of the left-wing, pro-ethnic Russian integration Harmony Center, which won the municipal election in Riga last year and currently leads in most opinion polls.

New Era leader Solvita Āboltiņa warned of the doomsday scenario in an interview published in Sestdiena, saying a victory by the Harmony Center would mean the loss of the country.

“And there will be no one to blame for this except politicians, who weren’t willing to unite and show that they’re capable of working together and not just fight one another,” she said.

Ēlerte, whose participating in Unity will give it an enormous boost in the eyes of Latvian voters fed up with the traditional parties, called on Latvia to create a new story.

“A good story has a lot of energy — it has a place for every individual of the nation. It leads us to a common goal, and everyone can derive his own personal story from it. Latvia needs a new story at the moment, because today’s Latvia, unhappy and confused, is vacillating on the outskirts of Europe,” Ēlerte said. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]parts is greater than any individual.

“You must be more than an arithmetic sum of separate forces,” she said in her address. “You must create synergy that would allow your potential and abilities to grow exponentially.”

The former president seized on a Winter Olympics metaphor, saying, “This pre-election period is not an era of solo figure skaters. Latvia needs a solid ice hockey team that can think strategically, act tactically and above all, work hard and cooperate in order to win.”

The message was a small victory for Unity, which is shaping up to be the only new political force for the October national elections. Unity combines the right-wing Civil Union, the center-right New Era, which currently controls top posts in the government, and the upstart center-left Society for Different Politics.

Unity combines both seasoned politicians such as Sandra Kalniete and Aigars Štokenbergs and relatively new faces such as Aleksejs Loskutovs, former anti-corruption bureau chief, and Sarmīte Ēlerte, former editor in chief of the daily Diena.

In fact, Unity combines opposing political interests that are bound to clash on key issues, though the party’s founders stressed change and the need to counter the forces of complacency in Latvian politics – i.e., the oligarch.

“The privatization scams, political business projects and finally the irresponsible policies of the ‘fat years’ have created a massive gap of alienation between the authorities and the people,” said Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis at the congress. “This is why I would also like to touch on the need to restrict the role of money and oligarchs in politics.”

Unity’s emergence on the political arena also coincides with the rising star of the left-wing, pro-ethnic Russian integration Harmony Center, which won the municipal election in Riga last year and currently leads in most opinion polls.

New Era leader Solvita Āboltiņa warned of the doomsday scenario in an interview published in Sestdiena, saying a victory by the Harmony Center would mean the loss of the country.

“And there will be no one to blame for this except politicians, who weren’t willing to unite and show that they’re capable of working together and not just fight one another,” she said.

Ēlerte, whose participating in Unity will give it an enormous boost in the eyes of Latvian voters fed up with the traditional parties, called on Latvia to create a new story.

“A good story has a lot of energy — it has a place for every individual of the nation. It leads us to a common goal, and everyone can derive his own personal story from it. Latvia needs a new story at the moment, because today’s Latvia, unhappy and confused, is vacillating on the outskirts of Europe,” Ēlerte said. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]parts is greater than any individual.

“You must be more than an arithmetic sum of separate forces,” she said in her address. “You must create synergy that would allow your potential and abilities to grow exponentially.”

The former president seized on a Winter Olympics metaphor, saying, “This pre-election period is not an era of solo figure skaters. Latvia needs a solid ice hockey team that can think strategically, act tactically and above all, work hard and cooperate in order to win.”

The message was a small victory for Unity, which is shaping up to be the only new political force for the October national elections. Unity combines the right-wing Civil Union, the center-right New Era, which currently controls top posts in the government, and the upstart center-left Society for Different Politics.

Unity combines both seasoned politicians such as Sandra Kalniete and Aigars Štokenbergs and relatively new faces such as Aleksejs Loskutovs, former anti-corruption bureau chief, and Sarmīte Ēlerte, former editor in chief of the daily Diena.

In fact, Unity combines opposing political interests that are bound to clash on key issues, though the party’s founders stressed change and the need to counter the forces of complacency in Latvian politics – i.e., the oligarch.

“The privatization scams, political business projects and finally the irresponsible policies of the ‘fat years’ have created a massive gap of alienation between the authorities and the people,” said Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis at the congress. “This is why I would also like to touch on the need to restrict the role of money and oligarchs in politics.”

Unity’s emergence on the political arena also coincides with the rising star of the left-wing, pro-ethnic Russian integration Harmony Center, which won the municipal election in Riga last year and currently leads in most opinion polls.

New Era leader Solvita Āboltiņa warned of the doomsday scenario in an interview published in Sestdiena, saying a victory by the Harmony Center would mean the loss of the country.

“And there will be no one to blame for this except politicians, who weren’t willing to unite and show that they’re capable of working together and not just fight one another,” she said.

Ēlerte, whose participating in Unity will give it an enormous boost in the eyes of Latvian voters fed up with the traditional parties, called on Latvia to create a new story.

“A good story has a lot of energy — it has a place for every individual of the nation. It leads us to a common goal, and everyone can derive his own personal story from it. Latvia needs a new story at the moment, because today’s Latvia, unhappy and confused, is vacillating on the outskirts of Europe,” Ēlerte said. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]parts is greater than any individual.

“You must be more than an arithmetic sum of separate forces,” she said in her address. “You must create synergy that would allow your potential and abilities to grow exponentially.”

The former president seized on a Winter Olympics metaphor, saying, “This pre-election period is not an era of solo figure skaters. Latvia needs a solid ice hockey team that can think strategically, act tactically and above all, work hard and cooperate in order to win.”

The message was a small victory for Unity, which is shaping up to be the only new political force for the October national elections. Unity combines the right-wing Civil Union, the center-right New Era, which currently controls top posts in the government, and the upstart center-left Society for Different Politics.

Unity combines both seasoned politicians such as Sandra Kalniete and Aigars Štokenbergs and relatively new faces such as Aleksejs Loskutovs, former anti-corruption bureau chief, and Sarmīte Ēlerte, former editor in chief of the daily Diena.

In fact, Unity combines opposing political interests that are bound to clash on key issues, though the party’s founders stressed change and the need to counter the forces of complacency in Latvian politics – i.e., the oligarch.

“The privatization scams, political business projects and finally the irresponsible policies of the ‘fat years’ have created a massive gap of alienation between the authorities and the people,” said Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis at the congress. “This is why I would also like to touch on the need to restrict the role of money and oligarchs in politics.”

Unity’s emergence on the political arena also coincides with the rising star of the left-wing, pro-ethnic Russian integration Harmony Center, which won the municipal election in Riga last year and currently leads in most opinion polls.

New Era leader Solvita Āboltiņa warned of the doomsday scenario in an interview published in Sestdiena, saying a victory by the Harmony Center would mean the loss of the country.

“And there will be no one to blame for this except politicians, who weren’t willing to unite and show that they’re capable of working together and not just fight one another,” she said.

Ēlerte, whose participating in Unity will give it an enormous boost in the eyes of Latvian voters fed up with the traditional parties, called on Latvia to create a new story.

“A good story has a lot of energy — it has a place for every individual of the nation. It leads us to a common goal, and everyone can derive his own personal story from it. Latvia needs a new story at the moment, because today’s Latvia, unhappy and confused, is vacillating on the outskirts of Europe,” Ēlerte said. [/private_subscription 1 year]

— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.