TALLINN - Though Cabinet members attending the April 8 meeting that marked the first anniversary of their coalition were served vegetable juice - an unusual ceremonial drink though oddly appropriate in light of the draft law on banning smoking in all public places - results of the latest opinions suggested that the ruling coalition might need a shot of vodka instead.
About 60 percent of respondents to a public survey published last week by the Emor pollster said that government policymaking largely remained the same one year after the center-right coalition was formed. Some 17 percent agreed that the work of state had become somewhat more ethical, but almost as many, or 15 percent, claimed the opposite.
The news comes as a splash of cold water to the face of Res Publica, whose 37-year-old chairman Juhan Parts took the young party to power by promising to bring a new, cleaner kind of policymaking to the government.
Parts, however, was upbeat about the past 1months.
"We have advanced well during this year. There is the political will to continue with this program over the next three years," he said on April 8.
Still, some say the very concept of the new policymaking style - promoted as responsible, honest and transparent government with zero-tolerance for crime - died in early May 2003 when freshly appointed Justice Minister Ken-Marti Vaher, through his spokesperson, provided false information about his record of traffic rules violations. As it turned out, the minister had previously received almost two-dozen tickets, including some for serious violations such as speeding and reckless driving.
But Parts came to the defense of the young justice minister, rejecting Vaher's resignation and saying that his fellow party member deserved a second chance.
When the new Cabinet was formed, each partner of the three-party coalition worked diligently toward fulfilling key election promise and achieved this in an agreement signed last spring. For the liberal, economy-oriented Reform Party - which received five seats in the government just as Res Publica did - this involved the introduction of parental allowances and decrease of the personal income tax rate.
Over 10,000 families in Estonia are now receiving the parental allowances that allow one of the parents to stay with the baby for one year and keep receiving their usual salary.
Taking into account the main achievements of the Parts' Cabinet according to the last week's survey (see chart), this year the Reform Party fared better in the public eye than Res Publica or the People's Union, the third party in the coalition.
In addition to the fact that the main Reform Party-sponsored projects have or will be soon accomplished, the most popular minister in the government, according to the same poll, is Foreign Affairs Minister Kristiina Ojuland.
Reform Party Chairman and soon-to-be European Commissioner Siim Kallas said that he was satisfied with the work of this coalition. In his opinion, the two most important goals - EU referendum and the NATO accession - were achieved.
"There have not been any major flaws in the work of the government, otherwise it would not have survived. The most unpleasant surprise for us was the wave of anger unleashed at us as we started to implement the parental allowance concept," said Kallas, referring to the opposition and the People's Union's rejection of the salary-dependant parental allowances.
No doubt, the troublemaker in the Cabinet is the People's Union. Despite being the minority partner, its actions almost led the government to collapse in November 2003, when it demanded changes to the coalition agreement that was signed six months earlier by the three parties.
In addition, the last two government scandals involved ministers from the People's Union - namely, former Agriculture Minister Tiit Tammsaar, who resigned last week over the major theft of grain from the country's strategic reserve, and Minister of the Interior Margus Leivo, whose son was arrested for purchasing an illicit drug.
Although the party's leader, Villu Reiljan, said there would be no new unpleasant surprises (see interview), the weakest link in the coalition chain remains the People's Union.
While the Reform Party and Res Publica clearly represent a more educated and better-paid urban population, the target group of the People's Union is more general.
Prime Minister Parts, for his part, has tended to find strength in the diversity of the current government.
"We promised there will be arguments in the government. We [the coalition partners] are all different, so the interests of as many people as possible are represented in the government," he said.
According to Parts, the government must carry on and there is no alternative to that.
"I have not heard of any program of the opposition which could be taken seriously," said Parts.
Table:
What do you consider the most notable achievement of the government?
Establishment of the parental allowance and the government's family policy 35%
Increase of children allowances 34%
Increase of the tax-free minimum 20%
Pay raise for teachers, medical and culture workers 16%
Personal income tax rate cut 15%
The work done for the EU accession 9%
The work done for the NATO accession 8%
Launch of the administrative reform 5%
The work on protection of Estonia's interest at the EU level 5%
Ban of corporate donations to political parties 5%
Other %
There have been no achievements worth mentioning 10%
Don't know 7%
What do you consider the government's biggest failure?
Grain theft 6%
Inability to solve social problems 4%
Support of the war in Iraq and sending Estonian troops to Iraq 3%
Joining the EU 2%
Setting unequal parental allowances 2%
Inability to fulfill election platform promises 2%
There have not been any major failures 15%
Other 13%
Don't know 54%
Source: Emor pollster
