Tallinn Mayor Savisaar: Estonia needs a restart
The Mayor of Estonian capital, Edgar Savisaar, held a speech on Monday evening at the Estonia Concert Hall, saying that Estonia has long lacked a balanced tenacity, leading to many unsolved problems, both small and large.
“The direction Estonia chooses for the next four years and beyond will depend of the (March 1) elections. The most important question is which one is preferred, either the right wings 'Firmly forward!' or the Center Party's 'We do it differently!”
Savisaar asked what the Reform Party's moving forward in the same manner means, saying that more people will leave the country, living costs will increase, low-end salaries will remain the same, as will pensions while queues for medical services will remain long.
He said only the Center Party offers an alternative to the Reform Party, dismissing IRL as a band of businessmen bent on dabbling with state funds, while the Social Democrats always turn right when in power.
Savisaar's election promises:
1. Implement a progressive tax system. He said most all of the rich nations in Europe have such a system while the five poorest, and Russia, have a flat tax system.
2. Decrease prices and fight poverty: free public transport in rural areas in one idea to help keep people in Estonia.
3. A home for every family: cheap state-subsidized housing projects will help people find jobs in Estonia. Savisaar said Tallinn has so far created 5,000 dwellings so far.
4. Economic growth for both urban and rural areas: Estonia has lost the momentum and optimism of the 90s due to over-regulation. Estonia could turn into a healthcare tourism destination.
5. We will increase salaries and pensions: the minimum monthly salary must be increased to 1,000 euros already next year.
6. The Center Party will form the next government: the party has managed to remain the largest in Estonia, with 14,000 members, despite some leaving.
“More important than planting oak trees is to pull the Estonian nation and people out of its current difficult situation. For that the focus of politics must turn towards its own land and people, towards its own population,” Savisaar said, speaking about the upcoming centenary of Estonia in 2018.
He added that only the Center Party has the will and the capability to restart the whole Estonian nation.
Editor: J.M. Laats, S. Tambur