On 12 February, Friends of Europe Trustee and Latvian member of parliament Sandra Kalniete, together with Girts Valdis Kristovskis MEP, announced the formation of the “Democratic Patriot Association”, so named as both politicians are currently independent after having left their parties.

The new association will aim to foster democracy and reduce voter apathy in Latvia, according to its founders. As previously reported, the two founders envisage building their support base at a regional level, outside the Latvian capital Riga.

The new party hopes to draw support from numerous politicians who have recently left both For Fatherland and Freedom, a junior member of the ruling coalition, and the opposition New Era party.

In an interview, Ms Kalniete, who left New Era, said that the new party had already drawn a considerable amount of interest from throughout the country.

“This can already be confirmed by all the phone calls and letters received from respectable people all over Latvia the past few days,” she said.

She added that, in order to avoid reliance on big business, the party will draw its funds from small- to medium-sized donations, a strategy adopted successfully by New Era.

“We hope to involve all party members in attracting funds and hope for the responsiveness of small and medium size donors,” she said.

Three prominent former members of New Era – Karlis Sadurskis, Ina Druviete and Ilma Cepane, all of whom are members of Latvia’s parliament, have already expressed their readiness to join the party.

For Fatherland and Freedom has seen about 40 members leave the party in recent weeks. The newly independent politicians cited as the main reason for their departure concerns that the upper echelons of the party were failing to communicate and consult with party members when taking decisions.