Reboot in Riga

摘要

TWO oddities have marked Latvian politics since the country regained its independence in 1991. A divide between "Latvian" and "Russian" parties broadly matches the country's ethnic split. And three tycoons, each with a pocket political party, have created an unhealthy overlap of business and politics.The general election on September 17th marked a big shift. Pauls Raudseps, a pundit in Riga, calls it "the start of real politics". Of the three "oligarch" parties, only the Greens and Farmers' Union is left in the 100-seat Saeima (parliament), and it did badly, losing nine of its 22 seats. Its leader, Aivars Lembergs, faces longstanding fraud and corruption charges (which he denies).