Latvians left without a real choice

When Latvians go to polls this Saturday (7 October) many will take a last-minute decision, as every fifth voter had not chosen whom to vote for a week before the general elections.

The choice has been complicated by recent scandals involving all major parties, leading to apathy among the electorate.

And this time Latvians have no big choices on ­policy directions, or EU and NATO membership.

The current coalition government of the conservative People’s Party, the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Christian conservative Latvia’s First Party is likely to win another mandate.

Latvia is one of the fastest growing economies in the EU - with growth exceeding 10% of gross domestic product in early 2006 - and, ­according to data from the International Monetary Fund, has lost the status of the poorest EU member state to Poland. The downside of this booming economy is high inflation, which has been one of the major campaign topics. But although it is widely acknowledged that inflation should be cut, no party has come up with plans on how to do that. On the contrary, there are talks about cutting taxes, which is likely to increase consumption and inflation. As a result, no party has set deadlines for the introduction of the euro.

Another important issue has been the so-called Irish problem. According to official data from 2005, 5% of Latvia’s labour force had left to work in other EU countries, mostly Ireland and the UK. Economic growth translated into higher wages is the most popular recipe to make them return. But despite increasing labour shortages in several sectors, immigration has remained a taboo.

• Dace Akule is a freelance journalist based in Riga.

When Latvians go to polls this Saturday (7 October) many will take a last-minute decision, as every fifth voter had not chosen whom to vote for a week before the general elections.