Platform 21

Platform 21 (Latvian: Platforma 21, P21, also stylized as p21)[3], previously known as For Each and Every One (Latvian: Katram un katrai, KuK) and Law and Order (Likums un kārtība, LuK), is a right-wing populist political party in Latvia.[4] It is positioned on the right-wing[5] on the political spectrum and it is staunchly socially conservative and Eurosceptic.[5][6] It was founded in January 2021 and is led by Saeima deputy Aldis Gobzems.[1][7]

Platform 21
Platforma 21
AbbreviationP21
LeaderRaimonds Lazdiņš
Founders
Founded8 January 2021 (2021-01-08)[1]
Split from
HeadquartersRiga
Membership (2022)1418[2]
Ideology
Political position
Colours
  •   Green
  •   Black
Saeima
0 / 100
Website
www.platforma21.lv

After its leader and co-founder Aldis Gobzems left the party[8] in October 2022 after party failed to pass the threshold in 2022 elections. The party gathered on its annual party congress in March 2023, where it was decided to change party's name to Platform 21, and elected Raimonds Lazdiņš as its new leader.[3]

Founding

Since being expelled from Who Owns the State? (KPV) in February 2019, Aldis Gobzems had hinted at starting a new party.[9][10] A preliminary kick-off event for the party was held in Riga on October 10, 2020, with a promise to found the party by November 22 the same year.[11] Due to a national state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and introduced on 9 November, that – among other things – put a temporary ban on gathering the 200 people needed to legally register a political party,[12][13] the party founding and registration was postponed. In a December 28, 2020 interview with Latvijas Avīze, Gobzems said that he would found the party on January 8, 2021.[14]

The party Law and Order was eventually founded via videolink on 8 January 2021.[1] Among the over 500 co-founders attending the conference call[15] were the four Saeima deputies Aldis Gobzems, Karina Sprūde, Ļubova Švecova, and Jūlija Stepaņenko. Gobzems and Sprūde were elected in the 2018 elections on the list of Who Owns the State?, while Švecova and Stepaņenko were elected on the Harmony list.[lower-alpha 1][18][16][19] Aldis Gobzems and Jūlija Stepaņenko were elected co-chairmen of the party.[16]

On 29 January 2021, the Latvian Register of Enterprises postponed their decision on whether to legally register the party or not, due to issues with insufficient information in the application documents. The party was given exactly three months to fix the issues.[20] On 26 February, the Register of Enterprises officially registered the party.[21] Similarly to KPV, KuK was ideologically ambiguous while fielding relentless anti-elite rhetoric that tapped into the anti-vaccination and anti-lockdown movements that had spread across Latvia during the Covid-19 pandemic. In December 2021, Gobzems organized a “Rhododendron tour” of Latvia, culminating in an unlicensed, loosely organized evening demonstration outside Riga Castle, the residenc of the President of Latvia.[22]

Party co-chair Jūlija Stepaņenko and board member Ļubova Švecova, both members of parliament, left the party on 30 June 2021, citing Gobzems' style of communication.[7] He had in weeks leading up to the breakaway been criticized for encouraging people not vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear a yellow star, as he claims the government's alleged discrimination against non-vaccinated people is comparable to that of the Jews in Nazi Germany.[23]

On 16 March 2022, the party was renamed to For Each and Every One.[24] With only the pandemic and an anti-elite message to draw on, Gobzems left the country around spring and resettled with his family in Spain. Although he returned to campaign in the summer, his activity had diminished, and his party polled just 3.7% in the Saeima election. Almost immediately, Gobzems quit the party and permanently returned to Spain.[22]

Change to Platform 21

At the party congress on 26 March 2023, the name of the party was changed to Platform 21. It was also decided that the party would become a centrist, modern national party. Raimonds Lazdiņš was elected as the chairman of the party. Party board member Karina Sprūde said that the change can be called "a restart" of the party. The number 21 in the name is said to symbolize the 21st century.[25]

Previous logos
  • 2021–2022
    2021–2022
  • 2022–2023
    2022–2023

Election results

Legislative elections
Election Party leader Performance Rank Government
Votes  % ± pp Seats +/–
2022 Aldis Gobzems 33,578 3.72 New
0 / 100
 New 10th Extra-parliamentary

Notes
  1. Jūlija Stepaņenko was at the time a member of Honour to Serve Riga! (GKR), a municipal party in Riga, but ran and was elected on the Harmony electoral list at the 2018 elections. On the day of the first sitting of the 13th Saeima, Stepaņenko left the Harmony parliamentary faction.[16][17]

References
  1. Ivanova, Paula (17 January 2021). "No Gobzema partijas ārā lien āža kāja". jauns.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. "Politisko partiju biedru skaits sasniedz gandrīz 26 tūkstošus". Delfi.lv (in Latvian). Delfi.lv. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  3. "Partiju "Katram un Katrai" pārdēvē par "Platforma 21"; vadītāja amatā ievēl Raimondu Lazdiņu". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  4. Latkovskis, Bens (14 January 2021). "Gobzema partija – dāvana valdošajai politiskajai šķirai" (in Latvian). Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  5. "Latvia". Europe Elects. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  6. "Topošās Gobzema partijas "Likums un kārtība" dibināšanas sapulcē piedalās vairāk nekā 500 dalībnieku". jauns.lv (in Latvian). 8 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. Ozola-Balode, Zanda (30 June 2021). "Stepaņenko un Švecova aiziet no Gobzema partijas "Likums un kārtība"" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  8. "Gobzems pamet partiju "Katram un katrai"". www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  9. "Aldis Gobzems intends to form his own political party". Baltic News Network. LETA. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  10. "Gobzems plans to establish new political party at the end of November". The Baltic Times. LETA. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  11. Anstrate, Vita; Ambote, Sintija (10 October 2020). "Esplanādē pulcējas deputāta Gobzema atbalstītāji" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. "Gobzemu no partijas dibināšanas neaptur pat ārkārtējā situācija". LETA (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  13. "Ja nebūs tiesas atļaujas, Gobzema partijas dibināšana 22. novembrī nenotiks". LETA (in Latvian). apollo.lv. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  14. Krautmanis, Māris (28 December 2020). "Aldis Gobzems: Pienāks diena, kad man būs jāvada valsts" (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  15. Rozentāls, Atis (11 January 2021). "Sāk ceļu uz jaunu partiju" (in Latvian). Diena. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. Klūga, Māris (8 January 2021). "Gobzema jaunās partijas "Likums un kārtība" valdei virzīs arī Stepaņenko un Švecovu" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. "Harmony member of parliament breaks away from party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  18. ""Gobzema piecnieka" deputāte Karina Sprūde – "ekssaskaņiete" ar stāžu". jauns.lv (in Latvian). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  19. Egle, Ināra (16 September 2020). "Patiesais iemesls, kāpēc "Saskaņa" un tās premjera kandidāts šķīrās" (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  20. "Uz laiku atlikta Gobzema dibinātās partijas reģistrēšana". LETA (in Latvian). apollo.lv. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  21. "UR reģistrē Gobzema partiju 'Likums un kārtība'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  22. Auers, Daunis (4 March 2023). "The Russia-Ukraine War and Right-Wing Populism in Latvia - ECPS". Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  23. "Maverick Saeima deputies' marriage of convenience proves short-lived". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  24. "Platforma 21, 40008305013, Previous names". Lursoft. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  25. "Video ⟩ Partija "Katram un katrai" turpmāk sauksies "Platforma 21"". Latvijā (in Latvian). 26 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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