Mieriņa undecided on staying in ZZS after party's election failure

Daiga Mieriņa, the current Speaker of the Saeima (Latvia's parliament) and a member of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), has said she has not yet decided whether to continue her political career in the party. She spoke on the TV24 programme "Ziņu TOP" after ZZS failed to win seats in the 15th Saeima election. After more than 20 years, the alliance did not clear the 5% electoral threshold.

Election result

ZZS received 35,405 votes, or 4.401 percent. It is the first time the political force has been left outside the Saeima.

Mieriņa: "I am at a crossroads"

Asked whether she plans to leave politics or the party, Mieriņa replied tersely that she is at a crossroads, like many people, and will have to think about what to do next. She intends to make her decision before the party congress. According to her, several party members will also judge whether to stay by the make-up of the new leadership.

Viktors Valainis, Minister of Economics and one of the ZZS leaders, has already said publicly that he plans to convene a congress to change the party's leadership. Mieriņa believes any failure is also an opportunity to reorganise processes and do many things differently. However, she said, what matters is who becomes leader, what the team looks like and whether it wants to change anything. She hopes the new leadership will listen to members who have pointed to mistakes in the party's organisation.

Should the alliance be dissolved?

Whether the alliance should be dissolved after such a setback, Mieriņa said, is a matter for the ZZS board. At the same time, she expressed the view that ZZS has exhausted itself as a brand and as an alliance. Together with partners, it must look for something that could appeal to people and finally define what the party is, what it wants and what values it stands for.

Mieriņa also noted that ZZS was granted substantial state funding over the past four years, but the party has now found itself without an office or staff.