15th Saeima election · 14 lists · 1,428 candidates

What the parties promise,
what it costs, who it touches

Economic programmes compared line by line with rough price tags and a realism score; social positions mapped alongside. Built from the CVK programme texts (17 Sep 2026) and public fiscal data.

days to 3 October
€43.0bn
GDP 2025 (CSP) · ~€45bn in 2026
€450m
≈ 1% of 2026 GDP, the yardstick used here
€15.2bn
Tax revenue 2025 (VAT 4.1 · PIT 2.8 · soc. 5.6)
4.2%
Deficit forecast 2027 before any new pledge (FM, Jul 2026)
48%
Debt/GDP end-2026, heading to 54% by 2030
5%
of GDP for defence from 2027 (4.9% in 2026)

Where the lists stand

A political compass built from the programme texts. Across: economic stance, from more state and redistribution to lower taxes and less state. Up and down: social values, from open and liberal to traditional and national. Colour adds the third Latvian dimension, the line on Russia, Ukraine and defence; switch the vertical axis to put that dimension on the chart instead.

Vertical axis

Price tag vs. realism

Each list's estimated net annual cost of its quantifiable economic pledges (midpoint, % of GDP) against the realism score. Dot size = SKDS support among decided voters. Hover for detail; click to open its price tag.

≥5% in latest SKDS (would enter Saeima) below 5%

Economy: five things the programmes tell you

  • consensusScrap property tax on the sole home is the one near-universal giveaway: 8 of 14 lists. Cheap for the state (~€60–100m) but it comes straight out of municipal budgets.
  • splitThe two poll leaders are opposites. Apvienotais saraksts has the smallest price tag (~0.2% of GDP) and a balanced-budget pledge; Suverēnā vara/Jaunlatvieši has the largest (~6–9%), funded by cutting defence.
  • battlegroundFamily cash is the main arena. Birth grants of €1,000–€5,700 and child benefits several times today's €25–100 appear across left, national and populist lists.
  • fault lineVAT cuts separate the populists. Broad food/energy VAT cuts cost €300–1,200m a year; the budget currently loses €32m a year on just four staples.
  • gapNo room to start with. The 2027 deficit is already forecast above the 3% rule. Even the mainstream JV/ZZS health and tax targets would add 2–4% of GDP if delivered in full.

Society: five things the programmes tell you

  • consensusUkraine and defence unite 11 of 14 lists. Only SVJ and Stabilitātei! would cut defence or seek neutrality, and Gobzema saraksts wants no "front-line" stance. SVJ, though, is polling second.
  • consensusNobody campaigns for more immigration. Lists differ only in how hard they restrict it, from "smart, humane" (PRO) to pushing third-country migrants to leave (ASL).
  • fault lineThe Istanbul Convention is the sharpest values divide. LPV, SVJ and ASL would denounce it or override it; PRO defends it and adds marriage equality; the centre-right stays quiet.
  • fault lineLanguage in schools splits along the Russia line. NA, ASL, JV, JKP harden Latvian-only; SVJ, SC and Stabilitātei! want minority-language schooling back.
  • patternAnti-establishment lists want to rewire institutions. A directly elected president (SVJ, SC, GS, LPV, ST), 50 MPs (SVJ, ST), lower referendum thresholds (5 lists) and new electoral systems (MMN, SC).

Polls, 13–19 August (SKDS / LTV)

Share of decided voters, derived from LSM's all-respondent figures (22.5% undecided, 11.2% not voting excluded). Latvijas Fakti (21–31 Aug) has AS 23.6, LPV 12.6, NA 11.0, PRO 10.7, ZZS 10.4, so NA and ZZS may be undercounted here.