Foto: BB.LV / Рижская дума обновилась.
## Minus Thirteen Due to the fact that the Riga City Council elected in 2025 has essentially become a non-stop pre-election rally, a record number of council members — 13 — have been elected to the Saeima. This means that every fifth servant of the city has suddenly become a servant of the people. The composition of the "Sovereign Power/Young Latvians" faction has been almost completely renewed (7 out of 8). The council will be joined by quite notable figures: long-time council member and former vice-mayor Vadim Barannik; Eijzhenija Alderman, who gained fame while heading the Naturalization Office; our colleague, journalist Natalia Lebedeva. The faction will also include Janis Lauva, Normunds Grostiņš, Anna Bondare, and Denis Gorba. In the "Latvia First" (LPM) faction, among the newcomers are well-known public health doctor and several-term Saeima deputy Vitaly Orlov; former head of the Riga Free Port Leonid Loginov; publicist and author of exposé books Maris Ruks. The ranks of council members will also be joined by Karina Plaude and Maris Mezals. The "Progressives" delegated only one deputy to the Saeima, and thus Igor Klayvins came to the council. ## Curator of Capital Deputies It is quite likely that the work of the city government will be subject to certain external influences — here, the figure of the future Minister of Smart Management and Regional Development will play a significant role. This official has the authority to initiate the dissolution of local governments. Of course, at present, there are no formal grounds for dissolving the Riga City Council, but it is not a fact that such grounds will not appear literally tomorrow. The main complaint against the capital's government is that it represents a snapshot of the political preferences of the public as of the summer of 2025, while they have changed dramatically since then. Thus, in the current composition of the RC, there are only four deputies from the "United List." In this regard, it is extremely unlikely that Vice-Mayor Maris Sprindžuks and his party comrades will be satisfied with the role of candle holders. ## Nerve-Racking Work The "Progressives," which include the mayor, and "New Unity" in the leadership of the newly elected Saeima received nothing, absolutely nothing. V. Kleinbergs' statement that, supposedly, a different coalition in the capital is impossible now indicates that nerves are already starting to fray. The "United List" (4 deputies) can invite the National Alliance (10) to cooperate, as well as "Latvia First" (14). There is also non-affiliated deputy Valery Petrov — in total, this makes 29 out of 60. It seems unconvincing, but… just like in the Saeima, where the emerging government relies on the officially "unshakeable" LPM faction, an asymmetrical coalition with situational support from those forces that are loudly called pretvalstiski is likely in the council. In any case, the moment of truth in determining who and what now represents the Riga City Council will be the approval of the capital's budget. There are only a couple of months left to wait…
