The Conservatives (Latvia)

New Conservative Party
Jaunā konservatīvā partija
AbbreviationJKP
LeaderGatis Eglītis
FounderJānis Bordāns
Founded17 May 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-17)
Split fromNational Alliance
HeadquartersRiga, Latvia
Membership (2019)1,074[1]
IdeologyLiberal conservatism
Political positionCentre-right
Colours  Dark blue
Saeima
0 / 100
European Parliament
0 / 8
Riga City Council
1 / 60
Website
konservativie.lv

The New Conservative Party (Latvian: Jaunā konservatīvā partija, JKP), known as The Conservatives (Latvian: Konservatīvie, K) from February 2022 to October 2023,[2][3] is a liberal-conservative political party in Latvia.[4][5]

It was formed on 17 May 2014. Jānis Bordāns was chosen as the leader on the founding assembly.[6] The Conservatives is a conservative party,[7][8][9] and it is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum.[9][10] It has embraced its main appeal on anti-corruption policies.[11][12] Due to its rapid transformation,[specify] it succeeded in winning seats in the 2017 municipal elections.[13] In the 2018 parliamentary election they placed third by winning 16 seats.[14] During their stint in the 13th Saeima, in 2022 the party voted supported an ultimately unsuccessful bill to introduce civil unions to the country, which would allow the recognition of same-sex unions in Latvia.[15] The similar partnership law was approved by the next Saeima in 2023.

After unsatisfactory results in the 2019 European and 2022 Latvian elections, Bordāns announced his retirement from politics and was replaced by former Minister of Welfare Gatis Eglītis.

As of 28 September 2024 the party is led by Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla, the former Deputy Speaker of the Saeima.[16]

  1. ^ "Kura partija Latvijā var lepoties ar lielāko biedru skaitu" (in Latvian). NRA.LV. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Jaunā konservatīvā partija mainīs partijas nosaukumu uz "Konservatīvie"". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 26 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  3. ^ ""Konservatīvo" nosaukums atkal būs "Jaunā konservatīvā partija"; EP vēlēšanās līderis būs Linkaits" ["The Conservatives" rename themselves back to "New Conservative Party"; choose Linkaits as leader in EP elections]. www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. ^ "The Puzzle of Latvian Government". Europe Elects. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  5. ^ Taggart, Paul; Pirro, Andrea L. P. (16 April 2021). "European populism before the pandemic: ideology, Euroscepticism, electoral performance, and government participation of 63 parties in 30 countries". Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 51 (3): 281–304. doi:10.1017/ipo.2021.13. hdl:11585/902489. ISSN 0048-8402. S2CID 234854028.
  6. ^ "Nodibina Bordāna "Jauno konservatīvo partiju"". nra.lv (in Latvian). NRA.LV. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Latvia" (PDF). The Heritage Foundation. 2019.
  8. ^ Matthews-Ferrero, Daniel; Bruge, Ilvija; Steenland, Robert (9 May 2019). "EU country briefing: Latvia". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Defending democracy: Confronting cyber-threats to Canadian elections" (PDF). cdainstitute.ca. September 2019.
  10. ^ "Global Elections Round-Up: Last 12 Months". Fitch Ratings. 13 February 2019.
  11. ^ Kaža, Juris (14 August 2018). "Who is who in upcoming Latvian parliamentary elections". Re:Baltica. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  12. ^ "13th Saeima elections: The parties (Part 1)". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  13. ^ Nakai, Ryo (9 October 2018). "Latvia's Same Old Story: the rise of new parties and a never-ending inchoate party system". Who Governs Europe. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  14. ^ "13. SAEIMAS VĒLĒŠANAS". sv2018.cvk.lv. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Saeimā konceptuāli atbalsta Civilās savienības likumu viendzimuma pāru ģimeņu aizsardzībai" [The Saeima conceptually supports the Civil Union Law to protect same-sex families]. www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 31 March 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Jaunās konservatīvās partijas valdes priekšsēdētāja turpmāk būs Beitnere-Le Galla". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 24 November 2024.