Latvian PM faces bittersweet victory in election backdropped by Russia – POLITICO

RIGA — Latvia’s populist Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs will face his first electoral test Saturday — but his head start in the polls is unlikely to shield him from coalition headaches in a contest where Ukraine and Russia are looming large.

After a campaign partially fought in Brussels’ corridors, Kulbergs could see two of his allied parties fail to reach the 5% threshold to get seats. And if his centrist allies fail to make it into parliament, the pro-Ukraine prime minister might struggle to get enough backing.

In this worst-case scenario, he may even need to open talks with Ainārs Šlesers, a right-wing veteran of Latvian politics who opposed restrictive tariffs on Russia.