Latvia Weekly

Otto and Joe are back to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the podcast and to break down the major stories of the last month such as the three-party coalition formation process that seems to be in its final stages, major energy initiatives, average speed cameras, the dismantling of more monuments, HIMARS for Latvia, and more!

If you would like to donate to the ENGtegration for Ukraine project, you can do it here at the Baltic Security Foundation's webpage here: https://balticsecurity.eu/support/

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

With the 2022 Saeima (parliament) election finally in the books, Otto and Joe sit down for an extended discussion on the results and the many implications for the election's winners and losers, as well as the first steps towards building a new governing coalition.

Opening and closing music: "Epic Cinematic" by Scott Holmes Music is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/cinematic-background-music/epic-cinematic/

On the eve of the 2022 Saeima election, Joe and Otto take a look back on some of the most important stories of the last few weeks such as a narrowly avoided teachers' strike, new energy saving measures, major decisions adopted by the outgoing parliament on education, a look at the regional security situation, and much more!

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

With just a few days to go before the 2022 Saeima Election, Joe sits down with some of his 12th grade students, many of who are about to vote for the very first time in their lives, to find out what issues are most important to them and how they feel politicians are doing at engaging with people their age.

Here is a link to the Election Guide spreadsheet and Otto and Joe created that is mentioned in the episode: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F…/edit?usp=sharing

Opening and closing music: "Epic Cinematic" by Scott Holmes Music is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Ho…pic-cinematic/

As a teacher's strike seems imminent, Otto and Joe sit down to discuss major new stories such as the potential elimination of "budget seats" at universities, legal independence for Latvia's Orthodox Church, the demise of Rīga's microbusses, new party polling data, and much more!

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

With Latvia set to vote on a new parliament in less than a month, Otto and Joe sat down for a marathon-length episode to discuss all 19 of the competing parties, as well as a brief introduction to how Saeima (Latvian parliament) works and is elected. If you would like to skip to a specific part of the episode, you can choose a part below:

3:24 What is Saeima (parliament)?

8:56 How the Prime Minister is chosen

14:56 - The guide to the 19 parties

17:54 - 1. Jaunā Vienotība

23:59 - 2. Latvia’s Krievu Savienība

29:22 - 3. Zaļo un Zemnieku Savienība

35:10 - 4. Tautas Kalpi Latvijai

40:28 - 5. Suverena Vara

45:57 - 6. Kristīgi progresīvie partija

50:24 - 7. Saskaņa

1:00:15 - 8. Stabilitātei!

1:10:31 - 9. Tautas Vāras spēks

1:17:05 - 10. Partija "Vienoti Latvijai"

1:19:54 - 11. Nacionālā apvienība

1:28:16 - 12. Latvia pirmajā vietā

1:38:02 - 13. Konservatīvie

1:47:22 - 14. Katram un Katran

1:53:35 - 15. Progresīvie

1:58:53 - 16. Attistībai/Par!

2:04:35 - 17. Apvienība Latvijai

2:08:40 - 18. Apvienotais saraksts

2:15:21 - 19. Republika

2:20:09 - Overall analysis

Here is a link to the Election Guide spreadsheet and Otto and Joe created for the episode: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FnCznxvsmc6X-6qOXpZoEvHwwUEFEOHOd-9X6VG4M5w/edit?usp=sharing

Opening and closing music: "Epic Cinematic" by Scott Holmes Music is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/cinematic-background-music/epic-cinematic/

Joe returns back to Latvia to discuss with Otto the literally ground-shaking demise of the controversial Soviet Victory Memorial in Rīga, along with a number of other important stories from the previous few weeks!

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

With a parliamentary committee labelling Russia as a "terrorist state", visas being denied to almost all Russian citizens, and the seemingly imminent demolition of the country's most controversial landmark, the era of Latvia as a "bridge between east and west" seems to have officially drawn to a close. Otto and Joe discuss the newest low in diplomatic relations between Latvia and it's largest neighbor as well as new energy saving plans, potential lower VAT on food, the first appearances of monkeypox and NFT art galleries in the country, and much more!

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

Concerns grow in Riga about a potential winter gas shortage for certain sectors, while Gazprom announces that it will no longer supply gas to Latvia. Otto and Joe discuss the implications along with a number of other stories, such as a picket protest by representatives of the medical sector, the long-awaited opening of an embassy in Australia, poorly planted trees in Riga, and an exciting "simtgade" (centennial).

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

As energy costs continue to soar throughout the region, Latvia gets serious about conserving fuel and finding alternatives to unreliable Russian natural gas. Otto and Joe discuss the ongoing international energy crisis as it relates to Latvia, along with other important stories such as continued inflation, new measures against speeding, urban bee farms on the roofs of cities, and much more!

Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission

Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_think-tank​ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8