IRL Pressing Ahead With Administrative Reform
IRL, recently forced into opposition, has handed over the much awaited administrative reform plan, although it is unlikely to draw enough support in Parliament.
The reform would force those municipalities to merge which until now have been reluctant to, and would cut the number of local governments from the current 215 to just 63 by 2017, the time of the next local elections.
Former Regional Minister Siim Kiisler first proposed the idea to unite local municipalities into one of around 50 to 60 population centers, mapped out by his office. The idea received mixed reactions, but the one that counted, by IRL's then coalition partner, was one of opposition, with the PM's party saying they do not want to force any mergers.
The motivation behind the reform is that the nation has too many local governments and the smaller units, with populations in the low hundreds, are not able to provide all services stipulated by law.
Kiisler said 71 percent of the nation support his plan, but the Social Democrat-Reform Party coalition agreement says the new government will first analyze the situation before inking its own plan.