Viljandi Official Gives Up Nomination After Uninvited Drunken Performance
Viljandi's city council chairman has decided not to run for mayor after it was reported that - during a concert at a Hanseatic festival in June in Herford, Germany - he got up on stage, grabbed the bass player's instrument without asking and started playing it.
Meanwhile, Viljandi's deputy mayor thought it would be a good idea to give the band members pastries; seeing as their hands were busy performing, he began stuffing the food in their mouths, Eesti Päevaleht reported today. The two had been drinking alcohol.
In July, city officials received a letter from the Estonian band, Paabel, which called the incident an embarrassment.
In his defense the chairman, Tarmo Loodus, told a Sakala reporter that he was not representing Viljandi during the performance, despite having attended the event with a city delegation to do precisely that.
This morning, Viljandi's city council decided that Loodus should retain his position until the upcoming local elections, as there are only two more meetings to be held. On Monday, IRL's regional bureau had decided to nominate Loodus as mayor. Having now forgone that ambition, Loodus said he will still take part in the elections.
"Each person will decide for themselves at the elections how serious the violation was," Loodus said.
The officials have apologized to the band.