Eesti in brief - 2010-11-11

While the past few months have suggested that the Reform Party is building an invincible lead over its main rival ahead of general elections next March, October brought a surprise - Reform and Center are running neck and neck, writes Postimees. A survey commissioned by the daily Postimees and carried out by Turu-uuringute put both the Reform Party and the Center Party at 21 percent, with 30 percent still undecided. CEO of Turu-uuringute, Tonis Stamberg, said he suspected the incipient changeover to the euro has affected the results and that the governing coalition is paying the price for inflation. Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (PRU) have nine percent support and the Social Democrats have seven percent, according to the survey.

Estonia’s economy picked up pace in the third quarter, growing 6.0 percent, after a gain of 3.1 percent in the second, reports AFP. “The Estonian economy grew six percent in the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same period last year,” finance ministry adviser Erki Lohmuste said. “Growth has been strong mainly due to growth in the industrial sector, supported by increasing exports,” Lohmuste said. “Private consumption also probably had a good impact on third quarter growth despite price increases. Official data from Statistics Estonia on third quarter growth will be released Nov. 11.

The movie ‘The Temptation of St. Tony,’ directed by Veiko Ounpuu, has been nominated for the European Production Designer award at the 23rd European Film Awards (EFA), reports LETA. Nominations were announced on Nov. 6, 2010. Leading the field at EFA is ‘The Ghost Writer,’ by Roman Polanski. The film tells about a manager in midlife crisis. The film is presented the following way by EFA: “Eastern Europe, the new century. Wolf-like laws and a wolf-like appetite. There are still a few who look for the withered tree of knowledge of good and evil, planning to build quality office furniture out of it.” This year’s 23rd European Film Awards will take place in the Estonian capital.