To date, the biggest challenge to preserving democracy in Latvia is the alienation of citizens from power, stated EU Court judge Ineta Ziemele in an interview for the TV3 program "900 seconds," LETA reports.
Assessing the global and Latvian experience after the restoration of independence, Ziemele acknowledged that maintaining democracy is difficult and requires daily effort.
In her view, the most serious challenge for a long time has been the alienation of citizens from power — and this continues to this day. She called for very serious actions both at the expert level and in communication to reduce this alienation.
"This alienation is a huge, huge risk for Latvia and, by the way, for other democracies as well," Ziemele said.
She reminded that the strength of democracy lies in the freedom of the individual: the more state-supported opportunities each person has to make decisions freely, the more self-sufficient and secure society becomes.
At the same time, Ziemele acknowledged that not everyone considers democracy the best form of government, and trends towards autocracy are spreading in many democratic countries, including Latvia.
When asked whether President Donald Trump undermined the democratic system in the U.S., Ziemele replied that despite autocratic traits, the principle of checks and balances still operates there — the courts are independent, the people are civically active, free media are functioning, and this absolutely distinguishes the U.S. from, for example, Russia.
"In relation to the U.S., one needs to see how this entire process will develop from a constitutional perspective," noted the EU Court judge, reminding that midterm elections are expected in the U.S. at the end of this year.
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