Christian National Union (Latvia) Explained

The Christian National Union was a political party in Latvia in the inter-war period.

History

The party was established in 1920,[1] and won three seats in the 1920 Constitutional Assembly elections.[2] It went on to win four seats in the 1st Saeima after the 1922 elections, but was reduced to two seats in the 2nd Saeima after the 1925 elections. It won four seats again in the 1928 elections, but only three in the 4th Saeima elections of 1931.

Ideology

The party advocated Lutheranism as the basis for governance and also supported prohibition.[1] The CNU had a similar profile to the nationalist National Union.[3] The party leader wrote anti-Semitic articles for the official newspaper .[4] [5] It usually sat in the Saeima alongside the National Union, the Party for Peace and Order and some Latgalian parties, in a grouping known as the "National Bloc".[6]

Notes and References

  1. Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p449
  2. [Dieter Nohlen]
  3. Book: Political Handbook Of The World 1931. Latvia. 118.
  4. Book: Dribins, Leo. LATVIA'S JEWISH COMMUNITY: HISTORY, TRAGEDY, REVIVA. The Attack of Anti-Semitism. 17.
  5. Book: Žvinklis, Artūrs. Materials of conferences and seminars 2009–2014. ANTISEMĪTISMS LATVIJĀ NO 1920. GADA LĪDZ 1941. GADA 22. JŪNIJAM. 2015. 59.
  6. McHale, p457