It was reported last week that former social protection minister and MP Kaia Iva quit Isamaa on December 31 because she was against the second pension pillar being made voluntary, as intended by the planned pension reform.

Lääne Elu editor-in-chief Andrus Karnau said that if you look at the number of people to join and quit political parties last year, Isamaa was among those to see the highest number of people quit.

"What does this indicate? This indicates that Isamaa's current policy direction clearly doesn't suit its senior members, it is unacceptable to them, and as they see no other opportunities, they have decided to vote with their feet," he said.

According to Karnau, likewise behind Iva's departure from the party is the fact that, as a Türi politician, she runs for election to the Riigikogu in the same electoral district as Isamaa chairman Helir-Valdor Seeder, and things already got complicated during the most recent Riigikogu elections, when Seeder tried desperately to jockey Iva into a less important position.

"It was a miracle that she became minister at all," he said. "Now that Seeder has significantly strengthened his position within the party, it is clear that Kaia Iva would have a very difficult time earning a significant amount of votes in that electoral district."

ERR journalist Marju Himma said that Iva taking a stand upon her exit from the party, in which she cited the weakening of Estonia's pension system, was a strong one — the party's policies didn't suit her.

"To put it the other way around, one can say that she is returning to Türi and will start preparing for the next local government elections," Himma added.

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