Time for change

Viola Lazo is one of the most widely recognized faces in Latvian politics. A Social Democrat MP, she is also deputy chairman of the Parliament's Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee. Interview by Tim Ochser.

Viola Lazo began her career as a television journalist in the later years of the Soviet era, most famous when she copresented a much-loved program with her husband, "The Old Wheel," which showcased Latvian folk music.

In 1997, she became a member of Riga City Council, where she was a counselor with the Social Democratic Workers Party. She became an MP in 1998, as well as deputy chairman of the Social Democrats' parliamentary working group.

You are deeply involved in the issue of human rights in Latvia. How do you see the problem of the integration of the country's large Russian-speaking minority?

This question is in two parts. There are many people both among the country's ethnic minorities and among Latvians themselves who aren't committed to integration. There isn't much goodwill among many people on both sides of the divide.

Integration is a long-term process, which will take at least 20 years to successfully complete. You can't just make it happen after five years, and it's unrealistic of people to expect rapid change. First, you introduce the necessary legislation, then you try and undo the various segregating influences left over from Soviet times, and in time we will have a multi-ethnic society at ease with itself.

Do you think that human rights reforms are too driven toward satisfying NATO and EU policy, and that they are not really suitable for Latvia's specific needs?

It's one step toward a democratic society. It is not just a political process, but a job for all people in Latvia to change their attitudes. Many of the "minorities" are actually majorities in the six largest towns in Latvia. But these reforms are absolutely necessary for our future. In the long term, these reforms can only make Latvian society stronger.

Many people are unhappy with the changes we have to make, but there really is no alternative if we want to become a fully functional democracy.

Do you think that the next election will be less polarized on the Latvian-Russian question?

I really hope so. But these polarized problems are not unique to Latvia. They're perhaps even more pronounced in major countries like France, Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, and so on. I hope the next election will be less polarized, but the fact is often overlooked that we manage our situation very peacefully and there isn't any terrorism or overt conflict in our country. But to really achieve this we need more stable political parties.

Every new election throws up new political players with their own agendas. I agree that mainstream politics needs to move away from ethnic questions and on to the really important things like economics. We're still in the major process of privatizing national industries, and that should be at the center of people's attention.

Do you think the success of Marija Naumova at Eurovision heralds the beginning of a more socially integrated era in Latvia?

It's not a new signal at all. For Latvians she's a very typical case of our shared identity, but the great thing for everybody, all Latvians, is that her wonderful success brings international recognition to Latvia. But she is a good symbol nonetheless.

There are many other examples as well as Marija though, like Igors Stepanovs, who plays football for English league champions Arsenal, and Gidon Kramer, the world-famous violinist.

The Social Democrats recently split into two factions. Does that damage the party's power base?

It wasn't a split, and it doesn't damage our party's standing at all. The Social Democrats have more than 3,000 members and only 170 people broke away and joined the Social Democratic Union. These numbers don't show a significant split. But it's true that our popularity has declined slightly in the last few months, after Egils Baldzens broke away from the main party.

How do you think the Social Democratic Workers Party will show at the next election?

Of course, we need a new social dimension here in Latvia. After 12 years of liberal conservatism, we need so many social reforms, in employment, in social policy, and in education. Our party has very sensitive policies on these matters.

Today, for example, there is a nationwide strike of nurses. There is deep dissatisfaction among people with their living conditions, and the general population is very cynical and distrustful of their politicians to look after their interests.

I hope that the electorate will understand that our policies address these key concerns. But sometimes the electorate seems to trust brand new politicians more than they do old and established ones.

Juris Bojars, the head of your party, recently created a dramatically amended version of the Latvian constitution. How long can the Social Democrats survive with a leader who can't even be an MP because of his KGB past?

In every party there are many people with an "interesting" past from the time of the occupation. Our party isn't extraordinary because of Bojars' past.

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga recently said that the Latvian courts were like a circus, which caused outrage among members of the Latvian judiciary. Do you agree with her?

We have very serious problems with the Latvian legal system, because it's still in a transition period from the old Soviet system. But we are near to a real democratic legal system. I think it should take about another five years to complete these changes. But nobody would deny that, as things are, the situation is totally unacceptable. We must do everything possible to hurry these changes along.