The announcement was made by party leader and Rīga mayor Nils Ušakovs on social media.
?? “Saskaņas” komandas priekšgalā Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanās startēs @VjDombrovskis. Latvija drīz var zaudēt 800 miljonus eiro. Vjačeslava pieredze un “Saskaņas” aktīvais darbs PES palīdzēs mums veiksmīgi cīnīties par katru eiro Latvijas iedzīvotājiem. https://t.co/HTlNcBUSwd pic.twitter.com/qkmGulBe6a
— Nils Ušakovs - Нил Ушаков (@nilsusakovs) January 24, 2019
Ušakovs confirmed his colleague "will take the lead in the European Parliament elections" describing him as "a person who is not only popular, but also with extensive experience in politics and the executive."
Dombrovskis is an economist and academic by profession and was formerly Minister for Economics when he was a member of the Reform Party. More recently he was the head of the Certus think-tank before running in October's Saeima elections as the lead candidate and prime ministerial nominee of the Harmony party.
He is the latest high-profile figure to announce his candidacy. Two weeks ago, another well-known academic, Ivars Ijabs, announced his own candidacy as the main candidate for the liberal-leaning Development/For! alliance.
Nu tā. pic.twitter.com/9HMKKqfHaN
— Ivars Ijabs (@ijabs) January 14, 2019
Places in the European Parliament are highly prized by Latvian politicians, not least because the remuneration and benefits enjoyed by MEPs are considerably higher than those available in domestic politics.
