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The New Party (Latvian: Jaunā Partija, JP) was a centrist political party in Latvia.^[1]^[2] Formed by composer Raimonds Pauls, the party won eight seats in the Saeima at the 1998 election on the back of Pauls's popularity.^[3] After the election, the JP entered into a minority government with Latvian Way and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK.

In the June 1999 presidential election, the party nominated Pauls for the presidency, and Pauls came first after five ballots, but withdrew his candidacy, as he still couldn't receive more than a third of the votes.^[4] The party dropped out of the governing coalition the following month, when it was replaced by the People's Party under new PM Andris Šķēle.^[5] In May 2000, it entered the centre-right governing coalition. However, Pauls left the party to become an independent MP in August 2000, leading to its influence declining.^[6] The party dissolved after Pauls's departure, with a third of its MPs joining the new Latvia's First Party.^[7]

Citations and references

^ Russia & Eurasia Facts & Figures Annual. Academic International Press. 2003. pp. 258. ISBN 978-0-8476-9859-2.
^ Berglund et al (2004), p. 109
^ Clemens, Walter C. (2000). Annual Survey of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Holding the Course. M.E. Sharpe. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7656-0360-9.
^ Berglund et al (2004), p. 127
^ Berglund et al (2004), p. 128
^ Clemens, Walter C. (2001). The Baltic Transformed: Complexity Theory and European Security. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-8476-9859-2.
^ Berglund et al (2004), p. 117

Cited sources

Berglund, Sten; Ekman, Joakim; Aarebrot, Frank H. (2004). The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84064-854-6.