Saimniek Democratic Party

The Saimnieks Democratic Party ( Latvian Demokrātiskās Partijas Saimnieks ; DPS) was a Latvian political party . Saimnieks historically referred to the head of a farm, but also means "master of the house" in a figurative sense.

precursor

In 1992 a Demokrātiskā Centra partija was created , which saw itself as the revival of the Demokrātiskais Centrs party, which existed at the time of Latvia's first independence . The small party was able to win five seats in parliament in the parliamentary elections in Latvia in 1993 and henceforth called itself Latvijas Demokrātiskā partija . The political organization Saimnieks was founded in 1994 by Ziedonis Čevers . During the Soviet era, Čevers had been the leader of the communist youth organization Komsomol in Riga, had become a millionaire with a security company during the fall of the city and was Minister of the Interior of Latvia from 1991–93. The project was financially able to fall back on a state security fund created by Čevers as Minister of the Interior himself. Although this was initially denied, Saimnieks eventually registered as a political party with around 200 members.

Saimniek Democratic Party

On April 29, 1995, the unification of the two politically very opposed parties Latvijas Demokrātiskā partija and Saimnieks with Čevers as party leader was decided at a congress .

The party positioned itself in the political center , but is also classified as left-wing populist or in literature . In terms of foreign policy, the focus was on rapprochement with Russia in order to overcome the economic crisis. Recourse to the time under Kārlis Ulmanis , dictator of Latvia from 1934 to 1940, were campaign slogans such as saimnieki savā sētā (German: "Gentlemen on one's own court") or the stylization of the party leader as a "strong man" who - first in power - would bring order to the state. The party was particularly directed against the infiltration of the state through organized crime and corruption. In terms of economic policy, she relied on protectionism against Western European market competition.

The financial resources brought in by Saimnieks allowed extensive electoral studies and expensive election campaigns for the parliamentary elections in Latvia in autumn 1995 . With 15.3% of the vote, the party became the strongest faction. Nevertheless, it was unable to form its own government in parliament. Saimnieks was instead represented in the " rainbow coalitions " of Andris Šķēle (independent, 1995–97) and Guntars Krasts ( TB / LNNK , 1997–98). A contradicting policy, failure to fulfill election promises, various corruption scandals and the exit from the government coalition a year before the new elections are cited as the main reasons for the subsequent decline of the party, which in the 1998 parliamentary election with 1.7% of the electorate in the five percent The threshold clause failed.

Latvijas Demokrātiskā partija

Andris Ameriks , who joined the DPS in 1996 from the People's Harmony Party (TSP) , became party leader in 1998. He arranged for the 'Saimniek' to be deleted from the name and a return to the original party program. Ameriks won a seat on Riga City Council in 2001 . Attempts to merge with the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (LSDSP) failed and in 2005 the party disbanded. After changing parties several times, Andris Ameriks was Vice Mayor of Riga from 2010 to 2018.

literature

Imants Mednis: Partiju laiki Latvijā (1988-2002). Drukātava, Riga 2007, ISBN 978-9984-798-20-2 , pp. 260 ff.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Andrejs Plakans: Democratization and political participation in Postcommunist Societies. The case of Latvia. In: Karen Dawisha, Bruce Parrott: The consolidation of democracy in East-Central Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1997, pp. 245-289, at p. 277.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Alexander Siedschlag : Political institutionalization and conflict transformation. Guiding ideas, theoretical models and European practical cases. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 2000, p. 410.
↑ Imants Mednis: Partiju laiki Latvijā (1988-2002). Page 261
^ Thomas Schmidt: The foreign policy of the Baltic states. In the field of tension between East and West . Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-531-13681-X , p. 88; ders .: The Latvian Saeima between continuity and change . In: Susanne Kraatz, Silvia von Steinsdorff (Hrsg.): Parliaments and system transformation in post-socialist Europe . Leske and Budrich, Opladen 2002, ISBN 3-8100-3243-3 , pp. 221–245, here: p. 231; ders .: The political system of Latvia . In: Ders .: The political systems of Eastern Europe . 3rd updated and expanded edition, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-531-16201-0 , pp. 123–170, here: p. 156.
^ Niels Dehmel, Axel Reetz: Extremism in Latvia . In: Eckhard Jesse, Tom Thieme (ed.): Extremism in the EU countries . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-17065-7 , pp. 213–228, here: p. 218.

[Plakans97_277-1] Andrejs Plakans: Democratization and political participation in Postcommunist Societies. The case of Latvia. In: Karen Dawisha, Bruce Parrott: The consolidation of democracy in East-Central Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1997, pp. 245-289, at p. 277.

[Siedschlag00_410-2] Alexander Siedschlag : Political institutionalization and conflict transformation. Guiding ideas, theoretical models and European practical cases. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 2000, p. 410.

[3] Imants Mednis: Partiju laiki Latvijā (1988-2002). Page 261

[4] Thomas Schmidt: The foreign policy of the Baltic states. In the field of tension between East and West . Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-531-13681-X , p. 88; ders .: The Latvian Saeima between continuity and change . In: Susanne Kraatz, Silvia von Steinsdorff (Hrsg.): Parliaments and system transformation in post-socialist Europe . Leske and Budrich, Opladen 2002, ISBN 3-8100-3243-3 , pp. 221–245, here: p. 231; ders .: The political system of Latvia . In: Ders .: The political systems of Eastern Europe . 3rd updated and expanded edition, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-531-16201-0 , pp. 123–170, here: p. 156.

[5] Niels Dehmel, Axel Reetz: Extremism in Latvia . In: Eckhard Jesse, Tom Thieme (ed.): Extremism in the EU countries . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-17065-7 , pp. 213–228, here: p. 218.