History
New Era was founded on 2 February 2002 by Einars Repše, a politician and central banker who was very popular at that time. Originally, most of the party candidates were political unknowns led by Repše.
In its first election campaign, New Era promised to combat corruption and tax evasion. According to New Era promises, eliminating tax evasion would increase Latvia's state budget by 400 million Latvian lats (about 750 million United States dollars), allowing for increased funding for a variety of programs and also for tax cuts. Running on this platform, the party won 23.9% of the popular vote and 26 out of 100 seats in the 2002 legislative election and became the largest party in the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. It formed a coalition government with 3 other parties, with the New Era leader Einars Repše as the prime minister. In January 2004, the coalition fell apart and Repše resigned.
New Era was in the opposition until October 2004, when it joined a coalition government led by Aigars Kalvītis of the People’s Party. It left the coalition after a vote-buying scandal in the Jūrmala municipal elections which involved one of its coalition partners, the Latvia's First Party. The New Era Party first requested Latvia's First Party to leave the coalition. After Latvia's First Party and prime minister Kalvītis refused this demand, all New Era ministers resigned on 13 April 2006. In the October 2006 parliamentary elections, the New Era party won 18 seats. After the elections it did not rejoin the coalition government. Despite its significant losses, it became the largest opposition party.
Repše has lost most of his popularity, due to a sequence of scandals, but remains one of the party leaders. In March 2007, the party established a new structure, in which it had two leaders: Einars Repše and Arturs Krisjanis Karins. Arturs Krisjanis Karins is a United States citizen, born in the United States to a Latvian family.
In 2008, prominent MPs and members of the board – Ina Druviete, Karlis Sadurskis, Ilma Cepane and Sandra Kalniete left the New Era to create Civic Union. Its leadership resigned, and Solvita Aboltina and Artis Kampars became new leaders. The chairman of the New Era parliamentary faction is Dzintars Zakis.
In March 2009, New Era Party member Valdis Dombrovskis, who served as finance minister from 2002 to 2004, became Prime Minister, bringing the New Era Party to the leadership of a 4-party, center-right coalition government.
On 6 August 2011, it merged with two other parties to form the new political party Unity.
Read more about this topic: New Era Party
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The whole history of civilisation is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)
“In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side of the cut has anything to do with anything on the other side.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)