The blockbuster of this pre-election season – the political drama (tragi-comedy?) “Order No. 2” has been released in the Daile Theater. The play is about a real political drama (tragi-comedy?) in Latvian politics in the late spring of 2011, when the president of the country Valdis Zatlers, who had already lost his position, proposed a referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima.
Since all the participants of the real political show of the time were also invited to the premiere of this theater performance, the question arose in the public space: how is that? At that time there were such enemies, they were ready to bite each other’s throats, but now they sit in the theater, shake hands in a friendly way, laugh together and applaud what is shown on the stage. But that would still be nothing. The most important thing is that you don’t feel a sense of shame at all for what you should be ashamed of. For the petty pettiness, for the intrigues, for the lust for fame and power, for greed, for duplicity, hypocrisy and everything else, which is characteristic of the political process and which is clearly depicted on the stage.
One can, of course, object and say: no, this is not characteristic of the political process. It is characteristic only of the political process that existed in Latvia before this order no. 2 and was terminated by this order, paving the way for a completely different political culture. One that is characterized by: broad scope, openness and honesty, selflessness, principledness, courage and integrity. Namely, the political culture that Zatler brought to Latvia with his “girls”.
In order to avoid misunderstandings, I will point out, just in case, that this is, without a doubt, irony. It is absolutely clear that no order no. 2 would not exist if Zatler had enough votes in the same 10th Saeima for his re-election to the next presidential term. If he had succeeded in quietly negotiating with his future enemies. It was not possible to agree, and then what happened happened.
Zatler did not bring any new, better political culture. You can already make a fearsome fighter out of Zatler, but, abstracting from the likes and dislikes of political teams, the same pettiness, intrigue, lust for fame and power, greed, duplicity and hypocrisy come to the fore. Perhaps only in a more insidious, more hidden manner and with greater support from the state-funded media.
The main screamers today about the “shame” that politicians should feel watching this show are the very ones who were fans of the political team that won in 2011. It is those who themselves should feel the greatest shame for the fact that they have severely disappointed those who once believed in their word. Who naively hoped that the whole political show of that summer with the “oligarchs’ funeral”, with the burning of shamanic straw dolls, with the founding of Zatler’s Reform Party in an institution with the significant name “Dream Factory” would really lead Latvia to a different political culture.
Unfortunately, this promising show ended with the aria performed by Zatler himself “only tanks can stop our determination to take “Soskania” in the coalition” and the privatization of the bank “Citadel” for an amount (74 million euros), which is approximately equivalent to the annual profit of this bank (72.4 million euros in 2025). If at the beginning of this show, the actors moved around the political stage with nimbus above their heads and angel wings, it soon became clear that the nimbus were made of cardboard and foil, and the wings were made of cheap plastic. All this sanctity turned out to be pure bluff and “fake”.
In other words, if anyone should feel shame, it is those who prepared and staged this May 28, 2011 show, mischievously exploiting people’s endless faith in the good, the honest. This does not mean that the political culture that prevailed in Latvia before that, in the zero years, should be defended. Political struggle, like any other struggle, is characterized by an aggressive will to win, and it is often necessary to use various cunning and not very honest techniques in this struggle.
Order no. 2 was undeniably one of the elements of such a struggle, and if it was within the framework established by the law, then it is difficult to blame anyone for its use. All the more so because the political events of 2011 in Latvia were precisely embedded in the global political flow of that time, which was marked by Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 US presidential election.
If this order of Zatler no. 2 approaches from the aspect of political expediency and stop moralizing, that is, talking about who should feel more and who should feel less shame, then we have to establish that this controversial political move (not to say a coup) undoubtedly changed the political environment of Latvia. At least with the fact that many of those who entered politics on the basis of this order were and still are in high political positions for many years and determined the political style of this 15-year period.
Let’s specify what style? The one embodied Zatler’s Reform Partys and the actual merging of “Unity” and public media’s undisguised stance on the side of this political trend. This informative support from the public media was one of the central building blocks of this political culture. Namely, when some can and others can’t. Some may stage a political theater performance with the images of current politicians during the primary elections, but others should think about every word in the comment, whether a candidate for parliament is being praised or slandered too much.
Without this important component, such an operation as the already mentioned privatization of “Citadele” bank could not be implemented smoothly. Here we can additionally mention the “mixing” of the law enforcement bodies and their gradual transformation into cute lap dogs, which now and then pass by in delicate supports, but almost never bite. At least not theirs.
However, just as the times of Obama were replaced by the times of Trump in global politics, the times of Zatler ended with the strange suicide of Evikas Silina’s government. Zatlerians and their fans may remember them as the best years of their lives, but for everyone else – an era that did not really justify itself, which has now completely exhausted its resources and is going down in history.
Whatever to say about the new Andra Kulberga government, it is obvious that stylistically it is a completely different type of power machine. At the moment, it is still too early to judge its results. It is possible that they will be as modest as the previous governments, but it is clear that the model of action is different.
Therefore, the main task of Kulberg’s team will be not to disappoint those who look at this team with eyes full of hope. Not to disappoint those who believe that politics can be better and more effective. Not to disappoint, as did those whom the nation had hoped for then, 15 years ago, when events took place in real life, which are now being shown on the stage of the theater with essential elements of tragicomedy.
