TALLINN - The city of Tallinn was set to undergo a shift in power this week, as the Reform Party announced it would drop out of the coalition with Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar, and cooperate with Res Publica and the People's Union in forming a municipal budget for 2005.
Should the three parties oust Savisaar on Oct. 14, it is likely that Tonis Palts, Res Publica MP and former finance minister, will take up the vacant seat.
Events surrounding the shift in allegiances unfolded dramatically on Oct. 7, with a Reform Party official announcing support for Savisaar and his Center Party faction. Then, within literally hours, she changed stance, saying that the budget deal hammered out with the opposition Res Publica and People's Union was more attractive than the one agreed upon with the mayor earlier that day.
Reformist Keit Pentus, who made the announcement, swept headlines in the local press.
"The compromise with the Center Party was okay, but the conditions agreed to during talks with the People's Union and Res Publica are much better for Tallinn's residents," said Pentus, who is head of Tallinn's downtown borough.
As early as Oct. 5 Pentus had expressed doubt as to whether Savisaar was willing to cooperate on key 2005 budget issues. The deal reached two days later, however, seemed to suggest that the Reformists were content to stay in the coalition.
Explaining the party's 180-degree turn, Pentus said there were serious doubts as to the Center Party's sincerity in meeting Reformist demands. What's more, the city budget contains a gaping hole of 1 billion kroons (64 million euros), she added.
Savisaar responded to the swift change-of-heart vociferously, saying the Centrists had been betrayed. "[The Reformists] had the traitor's image before, and it will only grow now. I even don't know who has stabbed us in the back more - the three Centrists who have gone or rather our former coalition partner," he said.
The balance of power in Tallinn began to shift two weeks ago when independent deputy Erika Salumae, who formerly belonged to the Center Party faction, joined the People's Union and formed the new People's Party group together with Juri Trumm, who left the Center Party to join Salumae. The exodus continued when Vitali Faktulin joined People's Union on Sept. 30 and Irina Didenko joined Res Publica on Oct. 7.
By Oct. 11, Center Party faction head Elmar Sepp was one of the few council members who believed the no-confidence vote would not succeed. "We have an ongoing information exchange, and we know that not all the members of the Reform Party and Res Publica factions support removal of Edgar Savisaar," he said.
Sepp said that after the vote failed, a new situation would emerge in the City Council, and the Centrists would build their future plans from there.
"In politics one should never say never, but unfortunately I believe that our cooperation with the Reformists will not continue," said Sepp, who noted this was not the first time the Reform Party had split with coalition partners in Tallinn (in 2001 the Reformists dumped Pro Patria Union and the Moderates).
Importantly, the three probable partners in Tallinn also control the national government. Kaupo Reede, chairman of Res Publica faction in Tallinn City Council, said that the new coalition would be built around fiscal policy.
"The budget talks will be very tensed, and without a balanced budget there can be no new coalition," said Reede. "We should not follow the Center Party's strategy of getting a financial shortcoming and then selling the city property to compensate."
Reede said that the new union of three would focus on the youth, culture and road repair in its budget strategy, while the Reformists said that several projects initiated during the Savisaar-led council, such as financial support to tenants of restituted houses, would likely be curtailed. The number of staff in the public relations department, an organization many claim was turned into the Center Party's PR department, will also likely be reduced.
Reede said that the Reformists' decision to jump ship was justified. "Politics is an art of compromise. When a politician cannot make compromises with his partners anymore, he seeks compromises elsewhere," he said.
Peeter Kreitzberg, an independent deputy on the council and an MP belonging to the Social Liberal group that broke away from the Center Party earlier this year, said the attempt to oust Savisaar and form a new coalition would likely work.
Kreitzberg, who along with seven other MPs broke away from the Center Party due to disagreements with Savisaar, said that he would not join any of the factions or deputy groups on the council but would rather support the new coalition's projects. "The Social Liberals are now polishing up their political program. Our group in Parliament remains independent, and I would like to remain independent in the City Council," he said.
According to Kreitzberg, the change of power is to some extent caused by the budget issues, since 2005 is a municipal election year, and political parties tend to spend liberally to win supporters.
"However, Savisaar's administration style, which hampers all kinds of cooperation, is also one reason for the coalition crisis," said Kreitzberg.
Palts was the mayor of Tallinn for six months in 2001 as a member of the Pro Patria Union but lost the seat through a confidence vote initiated by the Reformists and the Center Party. He joined Res Publica's ranks shortly before the 2002 municipal elections and resigned from the finance minister position last September after an investigation by the Tax Board in his commercial activities.
The Reform Party will keep the City Council position currently occupied by Reformist Maret Maripuu, and it will take up three out of the six deputy mayor positions and five out of the eight city-borough positions.
