Lithuania: President, PM most influential politicians: polls
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is the country’s most influential politician, according to the combined results…
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Welcome to Via Baltica, your “information superhighway” for news from the three Baltic tigers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania! Our founder and editor-in-chief is Kerkko Paananen, senior news analyst with more than two decades of professional expertise in covering and reporting on current affairs in the Baltic States. We aim to do one thing well:…
Lithuania: President, PM most influential politicians: polls
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is the country’s most influential politician, according to the combined results of two new polls, BNS reports. A survey of Lithuania’s elite indicated that Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius was the most influential politician with 598 votes, followed by Nauseda with 565 and Laurynas Kasciunas, chairman of the conservative opposition party, Homeland…
Latvia: Vote-puller PM’s party triples seats
Altogether six political groups managed to win seats in Latvia’s 100-member parliament in elections that concluded on 3 October 2026, LSM reports. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’s centre-right United List won an overwhelming victory, more than tripling its number of MPs from 13 to 41. The far-right populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), doubled its seat…
Estonia: Government approves new public broadcasting law
The Estonian government has approved amendments to the law regulating the operations of the country’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), ERR reports. Culture Minister Heidy Purga said that the changes would bring the law into line with EU regulations. The amendments would introduce a four-year funding agreement for ERR and fixed-term contracts for editorial management….
Baltic: airBaltic to slash 20% of staff
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, may cut 500-700 jobs at its bases in the three Baltic capitals, BNS reports. The company is in talks with trade unions on potential layoffs, which could affect about 20% of its total workforce. Currently, the airline employs around 3,000 people in the Baltic States. Meanwhile, Dace Kavasa, chairwoman of…
Latvia: PM wins big, three-party coalition likely
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’s centre-right party alliance, United List, secured a landslide victory in the country’s latest parliamentary elections held on 3 October 2026 with over 35% of the vote, LSM reported. The party’s overwhelming win was a big surprise in light of polls ahead of the elections. Kulbergs is an outspoken businessman who…
Latvia: PM’s party wins by landslide: exit poll
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs and his United List alliance may win the country’s parliamentary elections by a landslide, according to pollster SKDS’s exit poll, LSM reports. The poll shows that United List may win 35.6% of the votes, far ahead of all other parties. The far-right populist Latvia First would be second with 11.3%,…
Lithuania: Foreign Minister rejects run for president
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Kestutis Budrys, has assured Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius that he has no intention to run for president, ELTA reports. Speaking in an interview with 15min, Budrys said that public speculation about his possible presidential bid had made both his work and his life more difficult, casting a shadow on his ministerial actions…
Latvia: Early voting surge in parliamentary elections
More than 11% of Latvia’s electorate voted early in the country’s parliamentary elections, which was up sharply from just over 4% in the previous elections in 2022, according to data from the Central Election Commission (CVK), LSM reported. The official election day is 3 October 2026. Early voter turnout was highest in the Vidzeme region…
Estonia: Opposition leader urges more budget cuts
The chairman of Estonia’s national-conservative opposition party, Fatherland, Urmas Reinsalu, signalled major changes in economic policy after the parliamentary elections in March 2027, ERR reports. He said that the current government had failed to manage state finances and argued that government operating costs should have been cut more. Fatherland’s first task therefore was to fix…