OREANDA-NEWS. September 20, 2011. Snap parliamentary election approaches, we are hearing daily information about changes in party ratings, but on the other hand, we are also listening to broad political rhetoric that is dominated by loud statements about "the rule of law in the country," "the need to reduce the influence of oligarchs," "the need to get rid of corruption," and "the need to reduce social tensions."  At the same time, however, the results of a special pre-election DnB NORD Latvian Barometer study show that local residents believe that the most important task for politicians is to ensure economic growth.  They want the country to be run by educated and smart people who can offer a clear plan of action, as opposed to expressive slogans, reported the press-centre of DnB NORD.

The traditional indicators in the DnB NORD Latvian Barometer show that 65% of residents feel that the state is moving in the wrong direction at this time, and similar scepticism is also seen in more specific indicators related to the economic situation in the country, the financial condition of the families of respondents, opportunities to find work, and the work of the current government in dealing with various issues.  At the same time, if we compare the indicators from the last several months to the ones that were found back when Latvia was preparing for the 10th Saeima election, then we see that the trends are the same – evaluations in all indicators have become a bit more positive, with people hoping that the new parliament will be able to deal more effectively with the country's vast socioeconomic problems.

Although the overall index of public moods remains negative (-32), the indicator is among the highest ones in terms of the 40 monthly barometer studies that have been conducted by DnB NORD.  A level that was more or less the same as the latest one was seen late in the summer of 2008, when public debate was gradually being focused on the crisis, as well as in the autumn of 2010, when an election was upcoming.  That is specifically why the second part of the study was focused this time on public hopes about the work of the next Saeima and on an evaluation of the work of the outgoing government.

Asked about the work of the Saeima that was elected last autumn, slightly more than one-third of respondents said that it was no different than the work of the previous Saeima, and 16% of respondents said that it was even worse than before.  5% of respondents think that the economic situation in the country has improved during this session of Parliament, and only 1% agree that the standard of living for local residents has increased.

Asked about how the snap election might change the situation in the country, many residents said that politicians will remember that dissolution of the Saeima is quite possible, and so they will do better work (32%).  Others said that the public will understand its influence and will become more active and demanding vis-a-vis politicians (25%).  True, respondents were comparatively likely to say that the election will not change anything (29%).  This view was most often expressed by respondents who are not Latvian citizens and cannot vote in the election (35%), while it was said less often by citizens (27%).

Asked about the main duties for the next Saeima, 62% of respondents called for work aimed at economic growth.  A fairly substantial proportion of respondents, however, agreed with popular political rhetoric about getting rid of corruption and of the country's oligarchs (39% and 31% respectively).

The study also showed that citizens are more likely than non-citizens to call for the elimination of oligarchs from government (32% and 26%), as well as to believe that an important duty is to find a solution to Latvia's demographic problems (17% and 11%).  Non-citizens, however, were more likely to call for higher pensions (24% of non-citizens, as opposed to 19% of citizens) and to deal with ethnic issues (9% and 5%).  Full agreement was only seen in the area of finding ways of ensuring economic growth.  As noted, 62% of respondents said so irrespective of whether they are or not able to vote in the election.

Asked about the kinds of politicians that local residents want to see in government, most respondents called for MPs and ministers who have ideas and clear plans (61%), as well as for people who are educated and smart (54%).  One-quarter of respondents said that the country must be run by people with experience in politics and a blameless reputation.  23% of respondents said that government officials must be prepared to increase social guarantees (pensions, subsidies, etc.) even if that means cutting money for other sectors.  It has to be added that 9% more of non-citizens agreed with that idea than citizens did.

When it comes to the claim that is often heard in public rhetoric that the government needs new people with no political experience or with experience in business, however, only 13-20% of respondents, a small share, agreed.