Well-known diplomats leave Isamaa party
Two diplomats and long-term members of junior coalition partner Isamaa left the party at the end of the year. Isamaa has lost more than 250 members in a year.
Matti Maasikas is one of the founding members of the party and had officially been a member of the party since 1992. He left the party on October 27 this year. A former deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maasikas has been the ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine since last year.
Aino Leppik von Wiren was a member of Isamaa from May 5, 1995, and her party membership ended on November 30 this year. Since 2018, von Wiren has been the Estonian ambassador to Ireland.
The Right-wingers Association (Parempoolsed) within Isamaa called on members not to leave the party, but join the association instead.
"The Right-wingers realize that many members of the party do not like the direction in which Isamaa is moving today. Looking at the signals issued by the party, it is clear that the party chairman has chosen the path of withdrawal and reclusion. Recent striking examples of this are the opposition of the party chairman to Lavly Perling's wish to contribute to the activities of the Right-wingers and the campaign in which several hundred members of the Right-wingers were advised to leave Isamaa," Kristjan Vanaselja, chairman of the Right-wingers Association, said.
The number of members of Isamaa as of the end of 2020 is 7,797, which is 267 less than a year ago. Compared to the end of 2016, the number of members has decreased by 1,418, which is the largest decrease for all Estonian political parties.
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Editor: Helen Wright