Let the name-game begin

  • 2006-03-29
  • By TBT staff
TALLINN - The agonizing, months-long process of finding Estonia's next president unofficially started last week when the Reform Party announced a shortlist of candidates that it would support in this year's election.

The board of the liberal Reform Party, one of three ruling partners, nominated Population Minister Paul-Eerik Rummo, Mayor of Tartu Laine Janes and MEP Toomas-Henrik Ilves, who is a Social Democrat.
Commenting on the choice, party chairman and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said, "The Reform Party is convinced that Estonia needs a president who would embody today's free, newly independent Estonia and is capable of vigorously representing Estonian interests in the world as head of state."
The announcement comes just weeks after five leading parties agreed that each faction should nominate three presidential candidates by April 6, after which each would be discussed among party representatives.
It also complicates President Arnold Ruutel's situation, since it's clear he does not enjoy the support of a leading coalition partner. Ruutel has yet to announce whether he will enter his name in the competition. He will soon turn 78, and his support in Parliament is restricted mainly to the People's Union, a junior partner in the ruling coalition.
Electing the head of state in Estonia is challenging, since any candidate has to collect at least 68 votes in Parliament. If MPs fail to do so after three tries, then a special electoral college made up of MPs and local government officials is charged with the task. This was precisely how Ruutel was elected in 2001.
Referring to the last election, Ansip said, "The Reform Party would like to elect a good president for Estonia and to do it in Parliament. With this aim we are open for cooperation with other parties and believe that our decision to nominate these candidates is clear proof of it."
Ansip said that all three of the Reform Party's candidates were well known to the public. They all respected parliamentary democracy and adhered to a pro-West foreign policy. "Janes, Rummo and Ilves 's each of them carries a somewhat different message, but the Reform Party is convinced that each of them would make a dignified president for Estonia," Ansip said, adding that all three had agreed to be nominated for presidential candidates.
Comments from other party leaders were cautious. Center Party Chairman Edgar Savisaar, said the Reform Party's candidates were all dignified politicians and respected people. "At the same time, the Reform Party could not have named anyone else," he said.
"Regarding whether the Center Party supports any of them, I believe that we will name our own candidates, which does not mean that some of the names may not coincide," he told reporters.
Ilves, a member of the European Parliament and former foreign minister from the Moderates (later renamed the Social Democrats), could be the candidate to help bridge the gap between parties.
A senior Centrist politician described the Reform's support of Ilves as unexpected. He added that it made life easier for President Ruutel by reducing the likelihood of the next president being elected by Parliament. The individual said, now that Ilves had been nominated, it was possible for Ruutel to run for a second term under pressure from the People's Union and Center Party.
Taavi Veskimagi, chairman of Res Publica, told the Postimees daily that Ilves was a strong candidate who could be on all parties' lists. However, citing an anonymous source, the paper said that Res Publica most likely would not name Ilves as a candidate. "In very great probability we will not name Ilves," the anonymous policymaker in Res Publica was quoted as saying.
In the past Res Publica has impugned Ilves, particularly during the 2004 elections to the European Parliament.
The paper claimed that Res Publica firmly stands behind parliamentary deputy speaker Ene Ergma, who has previously served as speaker of parliament during three years, as one of its choices.
On the right, a Pro Patria Union spokesman was quoted as saying, "Whether or not Ilves will be one of the three names that we're going to submit is absolutely impossible to say at this point."
However, Mart Laar, a leader of Pro Patria, a right-wing party, is known to be a close friend of Ilves.
Pro Patria Union is expected to put Peeter Tulviste, who was one of the candidates running against incumbent Arnold Ruutel in 2001, on its list.
In December, Ilves published an article in Eesti Paevaleht, a leading daily, about the upcoming presidential ballot, saying chances of electing the president in Parliament were slim. He called on politicians to find a new Lennart Meri who will provide a new, clearer vision for Estonia's future post-EU, NATO accession.
"Can we find a man or women from outside Estonian and European politics who will make Estonia think again? This is our central duty for 2006," Ilves wrote.
Eiki Nestor, deputy chairman of the Social-Democratic Party, said he was pleasantly surprised by the Reform Party's decision.
Meanwhile, another Reform Party candidate, Paul-Eerik Rummo, began his campaign immediately by saying that a population increase and winning more support for Estonia in EU foreign policy should be the next president's priorities.
Rummo, who is currently population minister, said in his remarks to ETV24 that if elected president, he wouldn't place the head of state's domestic political duties before those of foreign policy.
"However, without a doubt it is very important that the number of Estonian people rise. Every step made for the sake of it is a step made in the right direction," the presidential hopeful said.