RIGA, Latvia -- Latvians appeared to have re-elected the governing coalition by a wide margin in parliamentary elections on Saturday, according to preliminary results, suggesting a broad public approval of the government's handling of the financial crisis. The crisis has hit Latvia, a former Soviet republic and current European Union member, harder than any other country in Europe, causing a 25 percent contraction in the country's gross domestic product and sending unemployment into double digits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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