TALLINN - MP Peeter Kreitzberg, a member of the Social Liberal group that broke away from the Center Party earlier this year, said this week that he would resume his seat on the Tallinn City Council, fueling speculation that he might be tempted to oust Mayor Edgar Savisaar, his old boss at the Center Party.
Kreitzberg's seat on the council was frozen after he and several other deputies walked out of the Center Party, the dominant party on the council, due to disagreements with party leader Savisaar.
"If the opposition reaches an agreement, and if enough votes can be mustered, everything's possible," Kreitzberg told TV3 on Sept. 13.
The news channel reported that opposition forces on the council have been preparing for a redistribution of power, and Kreitzberg's return is part of the plan.
Still, Kreitzberg said that he was not resuming his seat in order to oust the mayor, but out of a desire to return to the job after months of being a substitute member of the European Parliament, a position that ate up much of his time.
"But the opposition always has an acute desire to topple the other side," he admitted.
The Center Party has 31 seats on the 63-member City Council. With the return of Kreitzberg, that number will drop to 30 as Rein Ratas would have to give up the seat he currently holds.
Elmar Sepp, head of the council's Center faction, told the Baltic News Service that the plans against Savisaar were news to him.
"It's the dream of every opposition party for a no-confidence vote to succeed, but the correlation of votes in the Tallinn City Council does not indicate such a possibility," Sepp said, declaring that the power bloc of the Center and Reform parties worked smoothly.
The Reform Party has 11 deputies in the City Council, which gives the coalition a total of 42 votes.
"We have a mountain-high majority and the Center Party has no reason to doubt its partner," Sepp said.
Indeed, the Reformists confirmed on Sept. 14 that they would not partake in any plan to oust Savisaar.
"We stick by the coalition agreement and intend to go on with the Center Party," Maret Maripuu, chairwoman of the City Council, said.
