First, some trivia on Latvian politics. What many outsiders don't understand is that ruling coalitions in Latvia are not built from a simple majority in the Saeima (Parliament). Latvia is an ethnically divided country where ethnic Latvians voted for 'Latvian' parties, and a sizable Russian minority votes for 'Russian' parties. The product of these ethnic tension is that in politics, Latvian and Russian parties cannot co-exist. A Russian party has never been to the ruling coalition. For example, in the last election, SC and PCTVL, the 'Russian' parties, got 23 seats in the Parliament. Since each 'Latvian' party thinks allying with a 'Russian' party is political suicide, a ruling coalition really operates with (51/(100-23))*100=66% of the relevant vote. This also explains why Latvian political system is so ineffective. Ethnic divisions severely restrict options for forming coalitions and increase bargaining power of each coalition member vis-à-vis other members. In the current Saeima, for instance, effective exclusion of 'Russian' parties means there are only four possible majority coalitions of minimum necessary size.
— Vjačeslavs Dombrovskis, All eyes on Tautas Partija!
Iesaku: What is Wrong with Our Thoughts? by D.C. Stove
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