Center Party Congress brings no surprises

TARTU - The Estonian political scene was buzzing with the recent news that there is a challenger to Edgar Savisaar’s rule of the Center Party. Last weekend’s party congress was more exciting than during previous years, with the contender, Juri Ratas, taking a substantial amount of votes in the leadership election – but not enough to beat Savisaar.

The mayor of Tallinn, Savisaar, was re-elected at the 13th Party Congress with 925 votes, with Ratas gaining the support of 643 Center Party members. Initially there was much talk about the sincerity of Ratas’ candidature – whether it was orchestrated to demonstrate that there is a working internal democracy within the party. The closer the congress came, the clearer it was that there are serious problems within the Center Party, with two distinct wings emerging. Ratas has been adamant that although 41 percent of the vote is a good result, he was seriously aiming for the leadership position in order to bring change to the party.

In a speech held at the congress, Ratas explained that he is running in order to bring the Center Party out of the slump it finds itself in at the moment. He did not promise that under him the party would instantly get into the government, but the chances would improve significantly with him at the helm. He recalled that five years ago the Center Party was in the national government as well as in the local governments both in Tartu and Tallinn, the two biggest cities in the country. Today, they are only in Tallinn.

Five years ago, according to Ratas, they had a stronger presidential candidate, Arnold Ruutel, who provided more competition to Ilves than Tarand today, they had a leadership position in the Riigikogu and were the most popular party in the country according to opinion polls. “The future is bleak; we have been left in isolation. The party is in big debt; we are no longer leaders on the political left and will soon be beaten by the Social Democrats.” This could push the party into fourth place in the country.

Savisaar in his speech, on the other hand, emphasised the successes the party has seen under his rule over the last 20 years. He called on everyone to cast their votes according to their conscience and vote for a more united future for the party. It was implied that under Ratas, the party would be divided. Savisaar’s speech ended with long applause to the sound of a patriotic song.

Just a few days before the Congress, Savisaar also announced changes to the constitution of the party, whereby candidates to any public office will have to pay their campaign fees. The curious thing is that the amount will be specified by the party leadership – the internal opposition has voiced concerns that this enables them to keep unwanted party members from running in elections. What is more, the changes will mean that it will be far easier to throw party members out of the party. According to Argo Ideon, from Postimees, Savisaar’s speech emphasized the point that no factions within the party will be tolerated. The changes will mean dissidents can easily be gotten rid of.

Before the Congress, Savisaar published a list of a handful of names who he trusts to run the party with him. To his discontent, two people from the internal opposition, Deniss Borotits and Ain Seppik, were also elected to the board of the party. It has been widely speculated whether the internal opposition will leave the party; no announcements have been made yet.