The People's Party (Latvian: Tautas partija, TP) was a centre-right political party in Latvia. It described itself as a conservative party. Party was the leader of three governments and was a member of another four.
Tautas partija was founded in 1998 by Andris Šķēle, a businessman and former prime minister, who was the chairman of the party until 2002. Because of Šķēle's powerful personality, many voters identified the party with its leader during this period. In 2002, Šķēle exited politics and Atis Slakteris became the chairman of Tautas partija. At the October 2002 elections the party became the third largest in the Saeima (parliament), winning 16.7% of the vote and 20 seats. In 2004, People's Party member Aigars Kalvītis became prime minister.
At the legislative elections, on 7 October 2006, the party won 19.49% of the popular vote and 23 out of 100 seats in the Saeima, becoming the largest party in parliament and maintaining its status as leader of the coalition government, with Kalvītis as prime minister. The post of the Prime Minister was lost in 2007, but the party retained its place in the coalition under Ivars Godmanis of the Latvian Way party, and then until spring of 2010 under Valdis Dombrovskis of the New Era Party. However at the 2010 elections, the first after the Latvian economic crisis, the party lost most of its support, winning just 4 seats in the elections.
Tautas partija was a member of the European People's Party (EPP).
To avoid repaying a Ls1 million campaign donation, the party was disbanded by the decision of its Congress on July 9, 2011.
Famous quotes containing the words people and/or party:
“Rich fellas come up and they die, and their kids ain’t no good, and they die out. But we keep a-comin’. We’re the people that live. They can’t wipe us out. They can’t lick us. And we’ll go on forever, Pa, ‘cause we’re the people.”
—Nunnally Johnson (1897–1977)
“In inner-party politics, these methods lead, as we shall yet see, to this: the party organization substitutes itself for the party, the central committee substitutes itself for the organization, and, finally, a “dictator” substitutes himself for the central committee.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)