Populist parties are often represented in Central Eastern Europe.
Several manifestations of this can be observed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
In Estonia * the right-wing EKRE is gaining popularity among Russian-speaking citizens.
In Latvia *, interest groups are mixed with populist demands in the multi-party system.
Lithuania * has a relatively moderate populism, which has some similarities with the Czech Republic.
Tallin / Riga / Vilnius - The reports in recent years have focused on right-wing populist currents and parties in Poland and Hungary.
The Baltic states, on the other hand, aroused significantly less attention from the media, but also from Western European political scientists.
In these countries, too, there were specific changes in the party systems that show striking populist traits.
Estonia: The EKRE is on the far right
The Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE) was founded in 2012 and belongs to the right-wing party spectrum. The analyst and Baltic expert at the Institute of Central Europe (IES) Aleksandra Kuczynska-Zonik defines EKRE as anti-European, national, misogynistic and homophobic. EKRE takes a clear stand against the existing political system. Among other things, the Estonian right has attracted attention for sharply criticizing the election of a woman, Sanna Marin, as Prime Minister in Finland.
In the Estonian parliamentary elections in March 2019, EKRE managed to win 17.8 percent of the vote. They then became coalition partners of the center-left center party of Jüri Ratas and the conservative Isamaa. In this government, the EKRE was able to win over such important ministries as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior. However, the Rata's government resigned earlier this year. The Center Party then entered into a coalition with the Liberal Reform Party.
Despite its nationalistic character, the EKRE can paradoxically count on the support of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia.
"Interestingly, Russian-speaking voters in Estonia, who normally vote for the Central Party, are increasingly showing solidarity with the EKRE - mainly because of their support for the traditional family model and their opposition to the sexual minorities," said Kuczynska-Zonik, explaining the phenomenon in one of her publications.
Just as unusual as the alliance with Russian-speaking voters is the dynastic succession of the party leaders in the EKRE.
The current chairman is Martin Helme and son of the former chairman Mart Helme.
Latvia: Short-lived stakeholders only
The populist parties in Latvia are very different from their counterparts in Estonia and the rest of the region. They are seldom permanent. One example of this is the right-wing and Eurosceptic party “Who Owns the State” (KPV), which reached over 14 percent in the last parliamentary elections and made it into the governing coalition. In the meantime, it has dropped to below 1 percent in surveys.
In the case of Latvia, Kuczynska-Zonik points out that the party system is very fragmented.
There are many small parties, which is particularly difficult when it comes to forming a government.
The current Latvian government under Krišjānis Kariņš consists of five parties.
Especially in the period before the parliamentary elections, smaller parties with a populist character are increasingly being formed in Latvia, which often rely on the support of oligarchs and in return represent the interests of their benefactors.
This is now to be prevented in the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2022, with political parties having to prove in the run-up to the elections that they have been registered as a political party for at least a year.
Lithuania: Strongly temperate
Shrill tones, which are so typical of the populists, are seldom heard in Lithuania. The country is strongly oriented towards security policy and its foreign policy is value-oriented and long-term. The polarization of society is less pronounced in Lithuania and, if at all, there are conflicts of interest in the social sphere and between town and country. In Lithuania, the League of Peasants and Greens of Lithuania (LVŽS) best fits into the category of a populist party.
In an interview with
Merkur.de *
,
Professor Andrzej Pukszto from the Political Science Institute of the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas explains
that the name of this party is misleading, as the LVŽS is neither committed to farmers nor to the environment. Nor does it belong to the Greens' pan-European structures. "They presented themselves as a left-wing party," says Pukszto. The main populist statements of the LVŽS are a mixture of different role models from the region.
Initially, the LVŽS named the Polish ruling party PiS as their role model.
On closer inspection, however, the LVŽS is much more similar to the Czech ANO by Andrej Babiš than the Polish PiS.
Because here, too, an agricultural entrepreneur is at the head of the party.
Ramūnas Karbauskis, like Babiš, heads a large corporation, namely “Agrokoncernas”, which benefits in many ways from EU funds.
In addition, Karbauskis is the largest owner of arable land in Lithuania.
After the 2016 elections, the LVŽS formed a government coalition with the Social Democrats.
The social democrats have now recognized their mistakes and distance themselves from the populists by placing objective social policy in the foreground.
(Aleksandra Fedorska) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA