What Is Splitting Latvian Society? The New Prime Minister Addressed a Sensitive Topic 0 12

This sounds reasonable, considering that, firstly, the new government will be in office for a very short period, and it would be foolish and unproductive to waste time on ideological disputes, and secondly, the pre-election period already raises the level of intolerance in society, so why add fuel to the fire?!

Kulbergs was echoed by the leaders of "New Unity," who called for not lowering human rights standards.

It is quite possible that someone at this moment seriously decided that in the remaining four months before the elections, the government and the ruling majority in the Saeima would not again escalate "language" issues and fight against the language that is native to 37 percent of the population.

Naive Hopes

First of all, it should be remembered that the new government will be distinctly right-conservative. Both the National Alliance and the United List, even when in opposition, dictated their ideological agenda in parliament.

In most cases, the deputies of "New Unity" and the Union of Greens and Farmers supported the language initiatives of the right opposition. It would be strange to hope that now, when the National Alliance and the "united" have returned to power, something fundamentally will change in this regard. Language initiatives will be welcomed with open arms.

"But what about the promise not to raise issues that divide society?" you may ask. Paradoxically, nationalists do not see the struggle against the Russian language as an element and tool of societal division! They interpret it not as a ban (restriction) on the use of the Russian language in public spaces, but as strengthening the position of the state language! Do you feel the nuance?

Kulbergs and, by the way, "New Unity" also understand... the Istanbul Convention as issues that divide society! In other words, the new government will not return to the topic of Latvia's exit from this convention.

At the request of "New Unity," the norms in the laws regulating partnership relations will also not be revised!

That's it! As for language initiatives, they will pour into the Saeima like from a cornucopia – both until June 19, when the Saeima goes on vacation, and especially in September – before the elections. After all, language escalation has always helped the National Alliance – it would even be foolish for Dombrovskis and Co. not to use this trump card. Moreover, there is a majority in parliament willing to support all this.

And No Menu in Russian

When you read this issue of "Today WEEK," the Saeima's Economic Commission will be considering the language amendments to the Consumer Rights Protection Law that have already been submitted for the third reading.

The proposals from the deputies boil down to the fact that, for example, a seller, even if they wish, will not be able to communicate with a buyer in Russian – even if this language is native to both the seller and the buyer. It is hard to imagine greater absurdity! But if the goal is to create maximum inconvenience for those who came to spend their money (store, pharmacy, hairdresser, car dealership, etc.), then this is the right tactic!

To save the situation, the Ministry of Justice has prepared compromise proposals. The Ministry's amendments will still allow the buyer and seller to choose a convenient language for communication, but there can be no public information in written form in Russian! For example, a menu in a cafe or restaurant can contain information, alongside the state language, in English, French, or even Romanian, but not in Russian!

Without Subtitles

It should be noted that the National Alliance, having returned to power, will surely strive to bring back to the agenda the long-submitted bill to ban Russian subtitles in cinemas. The initiative to ban radio advertising in Russian has also not been removed from the agenda!

And to ensure that the state almost completely deprives itself of the opportunity to reach Russian speakers with the information needed by the state (and the authorities!), strict amendments to the Law on Public Media are being prepared. Yes, there is a softer version of the amendments from the Council of Electronic Media – in compliance with the Constitutional Court's decision. However, it is unlikely that a relatively more liberal approach will prevail in the pre-election frenzy.

What Else Do the Nationalists Have in Store?

It is interesting whether the nationalists will pull out from the dusty shelf of the Saeima's Education Commission their draft Declaration, which limits any use of the Russian language in public spaces? There is little time for its discussion before the elections...

However, it would certainly be beneficial for the National Alliance to remind about it again. Especially considering that the latest ratings have been very unfavorable for the National Alliance and the competition on the nationalist flank is ruthless – there is also the United List, the Union of Greens and Farmers, the new party "Rising Sun," and even partially "New Unity"...

This Thursday, the Saeima will surely approve the new government, thus the government declaration will come into effect, which, we dare to assume, will contain many "language" theses.

A New Topic for the Election Campaign

Of course, the ideologists of the National Alliance understand perfectly well that the "Russian question" alone may not be enough to consolidate and retain the electorate – they need to expand the front of struggle.

And in the last couple of months, the National Alliance has supplemented the political agenda with the topic of migration. Moreover, to be objective, the problem of migration from third-world countries is indeed becoming relevant... But let’s not be deluded – the immigration topic will not overshadow the language issue. At least, not yet…