The pro-European Prime Minister of Latvia won yesterday’s elections with a larger margin than anticipated. With 88 percent of the votes counted, Andris Kulberg’s centrist party secured 36.5 percent of the vote. His main rival, the pro-Russian “Latvia First” party, currently stands at 13 percent, followed by the right-wing SV party with 11.6 percent. Kulberg expressed surprise at the outcome and stated his intention to remain Prime Minister, while immediately ruling out cooperation with the pro-Russian parties. The threat from neighboring Russia was a key issue during the election, as Kulberg came to power following the collapse of the previous coalition in May after repeated violations of Latvian airspace by Russian drones. He campaigned for improved drone defense and maintaining a defense budget of 5 percent of national income, one of the highest among NATO states.