Movement For! (Latvian: Kustība Par!) is a liberal political party in Latvia.[1][2] It is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum with an emphasis on social liberalism.[1][3] The party was formed in August 2017.[2] From 2018 to 2022 it was one of the members of the Development/For! alliance, before it de facto dissolved.[4][3]
History
Movement For! did not participate in Latvian parliamentary election in 2014, but received representation in the Saeima when Lolita Čigāne, Ints Dālderis, Andrejs Judins and Aleksejs Loskutovs defected from Unity in July 2017, with Čigāne suggesting the Latvian political spectrum needed a centrist, pro-European party.[5] In February 2018, Saeima members Judins and Loskutovs left the "Movement For".[6] Dālderis and Čigāne retired from the party in April 2018, depriving it of its remaining members of parliament.[7]
In June 2018, member of European Parliament Artis Pabriks (former foreign minister and minister of defense of Latvia) defected from Unity to the Movement For, thereby representing the new party in the European Parliament. He continues to sit with the centre-right European People's Party group. Pabriks has also announced to run for the 2018 parliamentary election on the joint list of Latvian Development and Movement For.[8] He was the prime ministerial candidate of Development/For! in the 2018 parliamentary election.[9][10]
In November 2020 "Movement For!" announced that in the 2021 Latvian municipal elections, will start with own lists, its identity and program, but there is possibility that in some of the municipalities "Movement For!" will start with a joint list with the parties Latvian Development and Growth.[citation needed]
After disappointing results from the 2022 parliamentary election, in which the alliance lost all of its seats, the alliance was technically dissolved, though it remains registered to maintain state funding under the legal name of PLI (an abbreviation of the initials of the names of the former constituent parties).[14][3]
The party has been described as espousing social liberal and some economic liberal views.[17]
Party manifesto
The party's manifesto emphasizes the need for a unity of society, accessible public health care for everyone, rule of law standing over power and fair trial standing over corruption. The manifesto also calls for a reorganization of the powers to counties and cities, state aid for globally sustainable businesses, and addressing the issue of non-citizens in Latvia. Regarding public safety and foreign policy Movement For! seeks for a close cooperation between Latvia and European Union as well as NATO.[18]
After the disappointing performance of Development/For! in the 2022 parliamentary election, the board of the party announced its resignation, remaining as technical members until an emergency party congress. During an emergency congress on 3 December 2022, the members of the party voted to expand the number of chairpersons to three, electing former MPs Laima Geikina and Inese Voika, as well as Vladislava Marāne (ex Šķēle), the former Chief of the Office of the Minister of Health. A new board was also elected.[23]
