in 1998, er joined with two other predominantly russian parties, the latvian socialist party and the national harmony party to found the alliance for human rights in united latvia (; forhrul). the alliance split in 2003, with the national harmony party and the socialist party abandoning the coalition, leaving the newly founded rump free choice in people's europe (made up of dissident socialist party and harmony party members, like yakov pliner, who opposed the decision to quit the alliance) in the forhrul coalition.