Edgars Rinkēvičs, who had been the Minister of Foreign Affairs since autumn 2011, was elected President of Latvia at the end of May last year. He took office on July 8 2023.
Between June 14 and 17 this year, "What's Happening in Latvia?" asked: "On taking office as President of Latvia in July 2023, Edgars Rinkēvičs made the following solemn promise: 'I swear that all my work will be dedicated to the good of the Latvian people. I will do everything in my power to contribute to the well-being of the State of Latvia and its citizens. I will uphold and respect the Constitution of Latvia and the laws of the State. I will treat everyone fairly and perform my duties to the best of my ability.' Taking into account everything you know about his performance as President of Latvia, how do you think Edgars Rinkēvičs has fulfilled this promise in his first year in office?"
In response to this question, 29.1% of a total of 1,005 respondents chose the answer "very well", while 27.6% - "rather well". 10.6% of respondents chose "very badly" and another 8.9% "rather badly". Meanwhile, 14% of the respondents gave Edgars Rinkēvičs a "mediocre" rating.
The share of respondents aged 18-24 who gave "very good" and "rather good" ratings is particularly high, at 80%. It should also be noted that the only group with less than half of the respondents giving a positive rating is the 55-64 age group. In this age group, 19% of respondents rated it as "very good" and 27% as "rather good".
High-income earners have a comparatively higher opinion of Edgars Rinkēvičs' performance in the first year of his term as President of Latvia - 38% of respondents in this group chose the answer "very good", while another 30% chose the answer "rather good". Meanwhile, among low-income respondents, the combined share of respondents who chose "very good" and "rather good" is only 44%.
Among the respondents who were ready to vote for New Unity in June this year, the share of positive evaluations is as high as 95%. Edgars Rinkēvičs was elected President of the Republic of Latvia with the votes of the then-still-in-opposition Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS) and the Progressives party. In June this year, 21% of ZZS supporters assessed Edgars Rinkēvičs' first year in office as "very good", while 46% rated it as "rather good". Meanwhile, among respondents who were ready to vote for the Progressives party in June, 63% rated Edgars Rinkēvičs' performance as "very good" and another 28% as "rather good".
Supporters of the two political forces currently in opposition, the National Alliance and the United List, also gave Edgars Rinkēvičs a very positive assessment of his performance as President of the Republic. Among them, the share of respondents expressing a positive opinion was 82% and 73% respectively.
On the other hand, respondents who were ready to vote in June this year for the parties Latvia First and For Stability! mostly rate Edgars Rinkēvičs' performance as "rather poor" and "very poor".
