Latvia election: Brussels PANIC as anti-EU party KPV LV pledge ‘RADICAL CHANGE’

Right-wing KPV LV, which translates into the authoritative party name in English, has gained momentum in the small Baltic member state after promising “radical change” and an end to Latvians emigrating to earn a higher living wage.

Arnis Kaktins, director of the SKDS polls, said: “There’s a very pronounced anti-establishment mood in Latvia.

“There’s a huge desire for something new. If we look in the larger context, the same thing is happening in a number of other countries in Europe.”

Yet its leader, Artuss Kaimiņ, has not ruled out the possibility of a coalition, which is likely given the latest opinion polls show rivals Harmony is leading the ballot with 17 percent of votes and KPV LV is at 6.2 percent.

But Mr Kaimiņ could win over the nation’s eye-watering number of undecided voters, which currently stands at 25.5 percent.

Harmony’s following has been upped due to them catering to Latvia’s ethnic-Russian minority that habitually wins the highest number of votes.

They would however, need to strike a balance as despite fears of Russian meddling in the wake of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 remaining prominent, Latvia was a huge oppressor to the Soviet Union.

Mr Kaimin said: “Harmony is a thing with two faces, like a two-headed dragon. One is Putin’s head, while the other represents a big part of Latvia’s population, the Russian speakers.”

This implies many voters remain sceptical about Harmony and what Latvia’s future would look like under their rule.

To address such concerns, Harmony have scrapped a controversial cooperation agreement with the United Russia party that backs Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Vjacelsavs Dombrovskis, Harmony’s candidate for prime minister, said: “This system isn’t working — it doesn’t deliver what it promises people, which is prosperity, higher pensions and becoming like Europe.

“Harmony is the party that’s undertaken the monumental task of uniting Latvians and non-Latvians.”

Unemployment, central bank corruption and money laundering accusations have plagued Latvia in the past 12 months, signifying the country is ready for political change.

Una Bergmane, a political scientist at the London School of Economics, said that KPV LV has convinced voters that “the rotten ruling class has corrupted the state, and no positive changes in Latvia are possible without removing them”.

Polling closes today at 8pm.