Youth divisions of Estonian parties picking up

TALLINN - Choice of Youth, a recently established non-profit
organization devoted to solving integration problems among young
people in Estonia, has formed a strategic alliance with the United
People's Party, a Russian party in Parliament.

Maksim Yegorov, Choice of Youth board member, said that the
organization needs a power base provided by a party represented in
Parliament.

"The United People's Party kindly agreed to support us," Yegorov
said. "As our articles of association include presenting social and
political projects, we need UPP," added Yegorov.

The first action of the newly established organization is going to be
a bard song contest.

The overall political activity of Estonian youth is low, according to
Erik Pallase, Tallinn Reform Party youth club chairman.

"I dare say there are only four to five youth political
organizations of substance in Estonia," said Pallase. The Reform
Party is the most popular among 18- to 25-year-old residents of
Estonia.

Nevertheless, every major political party in Estonia has its own
youth division, targeted to citizens of ages18 to 35. The Pro Patria
Union is no exception.

"The Pro Patria youth division certainly has room to expand. Only 10
percent of students support Pro Patria, according to Social Survey
Center's data [April 2000]," said Ingvar Parnamae, Pro Patria youth
division chairman.

Currently, Choice of Youth has only 20 members, while the Moderates'
youth division, with over 1,000 members all over Estonia, is the
biggest organization of its kind, according to its Web site.

Choice of Youth is also planning to cooperate with other similar
organizations to improve the process of integration. "We welcome
other youth organizations as the problems are often alike," said
Yegorov.

Lauri Laasi, member of the Center Party's youth board, commented on
the importance of establishing youth party sections.

"If any party would like to exist after five or 10 years, it has to
think about young people, about bringing up new members."

The idea of establishing party branches devoted to younger people was
first successfully realized in the Soviet Union. Komsomol - the
Communist Union of Youth - can be considered a perfect example in the
sense of organization, according to Laasi.

"Komsomol had much more opportunities for development than
contemporary youth sections have. Komsomol's ideology and symbolism
were elaborated very professionally. To some extent, one could learn
from its example," Laasi said.

Laasi, Parnamae and Pallase stressed that the youth sections are a
good start to big politics for active young people.

"Maybe the members of youth sections will make Estonian politics in
10 years," said Parnamae.

But the real power of youth organizations remains unreal, unless some
major social problem concerning masses of young people occurs in the
country, according to Laasi.