Center Party in Tartu in Disarray
The Center Party expelled former Tartu councilman Silver Kuusik from its ranks for crossing the line in criticizing party members who voted for the controversial Cohabitation Act.
The party's office received 21 resignations from the party shortly after, with Kuusk telling Postimees that more will follow as he has himself invited the people, mostly young Russian speakers and Estonians.
Kuusik said the reasons lie deeper, with members losing hope the party will bounce back in the south and the fact that Kadri Simson, who Kuusik said would have stood out against top candidates of competitors, was brushed aside.
Kuusik wrote on his Facebook page that he is ashamed that four Center Party MPs voted for the bill, adding that two of them, Lauri Laasi and Priit Toobal, will be taken care of by the Internal Security Service, pointing to the court cases against the two. Laasi's private reply, in which he threatened to have Kuusik expelled from the party, was, however, shortly after leaked to the press. Laasi told Postimees that he has been under a lot of pressure lately and Kuusik's public insult pushed him over the edge.