Former SDE chair Indrek Saar not running for Riigikogu anymore
MP Indrek Saar, former chair of the coalition Social Democratic Party (SDE), announced in a letter to his fellow party members that he will not be running for election to the Riigikogu anymore, including in the 2023 general election next March.
In his letter, Saare recalled that at the time he was first elected to the Riigikogu, his younger daughter was as old as his grandchildren are now. "Thus the time has come for me to announce that I have decided not to run for election to the Riigikogu anymore," he wrote, adding that this decision wasn't made overnight.
According to the former party chair, classical management theory stipulates that leaders should typically change careers every seven years on average in order to allow both themselves and the organizations they lead to continue to develop.
"In spring 2021, when we'd been living with the pandemic and restrictions for more than a year already, I had been involved in top politics for 14 years straight, the last ten years of which in management positions — as secretary general, minister, party chair," he said.
"No matter how I analyzed it, I still came to the same conclusion — the likelihood I could contribute something new to my party and thus to society in the long term continues to decrease and the risk of stagnation continues to increase," he continued. "And I don't want that, because both are dear to me. Which is why I've decided to make way for both newcomers to politics as well as new challenges for myself."
According to Saar, Social Democrats have always argued passionately over how to do something, but they've always had a common goal.
"And when we've had to choose between the popular choice and the right choice, we've almost always chosen what is right," he stressed. "I suppose we've also paid for it during elections as well, but we can look future generations in the eye with a clear conscience."
Indrek Saar first joined the Social Democratic Party in December 1998. He has served as MP in the XI, XII, XIII and XIV Riigikogus. From April 2015 through April 2019, he also served as minister of culture in Taavi Rõivas' second and Jüri Ratas' first government.
Lauri Läänemets, who is currently serving as minister of the interior, was elected the new chair of the SDE this February.
Saar currently serves as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Aili Vahtla
