For a Humane Latvia

Who Owns the State? or To Whom Does the Country Belong?[nb 1] (Latvian: Kam pieder valsts?)[6] is a right-wing populist[2][7] party in Latvia.

Who Owns the State?

Kam pieder valsts?
AbbreviationKPV
ChairmanRolands Millers (disputed)[1]
Founded3 May 2016 (3 May 2016)
Split fromLatvian Association of Regions
IdeologyRight-wing populism[2]
Anti-establishment[3]
Conservatism[2]
Anti-corruption[4]
Political positionCentre-right[5] to right-wing[2]
ColoursCyan
Saeima
10 / 100
European Parliament
0 / 8
Website
www.kpv.lv

The party was founded by former Latvian Association of Regions deputy of the Saeima and (since December 2015) independent politician, Artuss Kaimiņš.[8][9][10]

History

Initially known as just KPV, it changed its abbreviation to KPV LV on 21 June 2016, as an association by the same name already existed.[11]

In July 2018, the party experienced a steep rise in ratings, reaching 7.0%, in comparison with 4.4% just a month before, and became the third most popular political party in Latvia. Political scientist Ivars Ijabs credited the rise to Kaimiņš, co-chairman of the party Atis Zakatistovs and businessman Viesturs Tamužs being detained by anti-graft police in late June for alleged illegal party financing that Kaimiņš claimed was politically motivated.[12][13] In August the party's rating rose to 7.5%,[14][15] but then dropped to 6.2% a month later.[16] According to the results of a survey organized by the Union of European Latvians and the web portal latviesi.com, KPV LV was the most popular political party in the Latvian diaspora in September 2018, with nearly 25% in support.[17] The party's prime minister candidate for the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election was attorney Aldis Gobzems.[10]

KPV LV received the second largest number of votes (14.25%) among the parties participating in the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election and earned 16 seats in the 13th Saeima.[18] After Jānis Bordāns of New Conservative Party (which also earned 16 seats in parliament) was unsuccessful in negotiating a governing coalition, President Raimonds Vējonis nominated Gobzems as Prime Minister of Latvia on 26 November 2018,[19][20] however Gobzems was also unsuccessful in forming a government and on 10 December Vējonis withdrew his candidacy.[21][22]

On 4 February 2019 the party board voted to expel Gobzems from the party, with Kaimiņš citing damage to the party's image as the main reason, while Gobzems claimed he was expelled "in the interests of Artuss Kaimiņš".[23] On 6 February 2019 Gobzems was subsequently removed from KPV LV's parliamentary group.[24]

A week later the party's co-chairperson and member of the board Linda Liepiņa stepped down because of KPV LV joining a coalition she did not support and the recent actions of Kaimiņš among other things.[25] After the latest developments in the faction and its vote in the presidential elections she also left the party and its parliamentary faction on 29 May.[26] A day later Liepiņa was followed by MP Karina Sprūde who also left the party and its parliamentary faction.[27] The once-candidate for the office of the President of Latvia, MP Didzis Šmits left the main KPV faction on 13 June although he has not yet said that he will leave the party.[28]

In 2020, the party suffered an electoral setback, receiving only 1.12% of the vote at the 2020 Riga City Council snap election. On December 12, 2020, during a party convention KPV LV members voted to remove chairman Atis Zakatistovs from the party, replace him with board member Rolands Millers and to rename the party to For a Humane Latvia (Latvian: Par cilvēcīgu Latviju).[29] However, the change has been contested by a splinter convention held the month, which prompted the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia to postpone the name change and return the submission documents for revision with a deadline of April 2021.[30]

Ideology

The party has been described as right-wing populist,[2][7] populist,[31][32][33] anti-establishment,[3] and Eurosceptic.[7]

KPV LV's position on the European Union has been compared to that of Italy's Five Star Movement – not promoting "hard Euroscepticism" in line with the predominantly pro-EU majority of competing parties, but also taking critical stances of the EU's economic policies, including the euro.[34]

Election results
Logo in 2016

Parliament (Saeima)
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Government
2018 120,264 14.25% (#2)
16 / 100
 New Coalition government

European Parliament
year votes % seats +/–
2019 4,362 0,92 (#10)
0 / 8
 New

Notes
  1. In December 2020 a convention voted to change the name to For A Humane Latvia; this has been contested by a rival convention, submission ultimately returned by the Register of Enterprises for revision.

References
  1. "Partija "KPV LV" nolēmusi mainīt nosaukumu". LETA (in Latvian). jauns.lv. December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  2. Henningsen, Bernd; Etzold, Tobias; Hanne, Krister (2017). The Baltic Sea Region: A Comprehensive Guide. BWV Verlag. p. 341. ISBN 9783830517276.
  3. Hegedüs, Daniel; Boros, Tamás; Bartha, Dániel; Cuperus, René; Győri, Gábor; Laki, Gergely; Soós, Eszter Petronella (2017). The State of Populism in Europe 2017. Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Policy Solutions, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Budapest. p. 44. ISBN 9782930769103. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  4. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Latvia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. "Who owns the state? Latvian anti-establishment party aims for power". New Eastern Eurppe. 13 November 2018.
  6. "October 2018 Latvian Elections: Voting Information – Part 2". Latvians Online. September 5, 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018. KPV.LV (short for “Kam pieder valsts” which translates as “Who does the country belong to?”)
  7. Kjetil Duvold; Sten Berglund; Joakim Ekman (2020). Political Culture in the Baltic States: Between National and European Integration. Springer Nature. p. 62. ISBN 978-3-030-21844-7.
  8. "Today is the day of founding for Artuss Kaimins' new political party". Baltic News Network. LETA. May 3, 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  9. "Firebrand MP founds new party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. LETA. 5 May 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  10. Kaža, Juris (14 August 2018). "Who is who in upcoming Latvian parliamentary elections". Re:Baltica. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  11. "Artuss Kaimins new party to be renamed". Baltic News Network. LETA. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  12. "MP released from custody, three suspected of illegal party financing scheme". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  13. Krenberga, Odita (26 July 2018). "Steep rise in ratings for populist party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  14. Geste, Jānis (24 August 2018). "August party ratings: KPV LV steady, hopes up for New Unity". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  15. "Popularity of KPV LV party, New Unity kept growing in August". The Baltic Times. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  16. "Party ratings see support drop for Harmony, grow for newcomers". De Facto. Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  17. "Latvian diaspora's most liked political parties include KPV LV, Attīstībai/Par! and Progressive". Baltic News Network. LETA. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  18. "Latvian election results show shape of new Saeima". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. LETA. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  19. "Gobzems nominated for PM". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  20. "President nominates Gobzems for PM". The Baltic Times. LETA. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  21. "Gobzems out of the picture as candidacy pulled by President". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  22. "Latvian president calls off KPV LV leader Aldis Gobzems nomination". Baltic News Network. LETA. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  23. "KPV LV expels leader Gobzems from party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  24. Līcīte, Madara; Semjonova, Ella (6 February 2019). "Gobzems booted from KPV LV's Saeima faction as well". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  25. "Troubles continue in Latvian anti-establishment party KPV LV". Baltic News Network. LETA. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  26. "MP Liepiņa to leave KPV LV faction and party over presidential vote". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  27. "Another MP leaves KPV LV party and parliament faction". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  28. ""KPV LV" pamet Roberts Spručs; Šmits izstājas no frakcijas". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  29. ""KPV LV" lemj mainīt nosaukumu uz "Par cilvēcīgu Latviju"" [KPV LV decides to rename itself to "For A Humane Latvia"]. LETA (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. December 12, 2020.
  30. "Joprojām nav skaidrības, kura "KPV LV" daļa ir "īstā"" [Still no consensus on which faction of KPV LV is "genuine"]. Apollo.lv (in Latvian). 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  31. Tom Lansford, ed. (2019). Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019. SAGE Publications. p. 4057. ISBN 978-1-5443-2711-2.
  32. "Echoes of the wave of populism: voters of Kaimiņš – young angry males" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. December 18, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  33. "Nations in Transit 2018: Latvia". Freedom House. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  34. Petsinis, Vassilis (26 January 2019). "As long as it lasts: Latvia's new coalition government". openDemocracy. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
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