Eesti 200 chairman defends Riisalo and Nortal over personalized state plans
Eesti 200 Chairman Margus Tsahkna defended his colleague Minister of Economy Affairs and IT Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) and plans to create a "personalized state" that overlaps with a study previously published by Nortal. He said it is hard to be innovative when the party is accused of cooperating with entrepreneurs.
"I am amazed at the passion with which the Minister of Economy and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo is being attacked because he dared to come up with a plan for revive the economy and one of Eesti 200's biggest reforms – for a vision of a personalized state," Tsahkna said in a statement sent to the media on Wednesday.
Newspaper Eesti Päevaleht reported on Wednesday morning that the personalized state vision document published by the Ministry of Economy Affairs (MKM) is copied from a study funded by Nortal, a company connected to Eesti 200 members. The article said Priit Alamäe, Eesti 200 co-founder and co-owner of Nortal, is one of the party's biggest donors, donating around €430,000 over the years.
Riiisalo has previously said he sees no conflict of interest.
Tsahkna said Riisalo is accused of listening to entrepreneurs, but it is entrepreneurs who create added value, and jobs and have stood for Estonian innovation.
The minister said in the future entrepreneurs or experts may not want to share their plans, experience, or give input to the public sector, if they end up in newspapers.
"Yes, many of them have openly and honestly supported Estonia's 200 political parties, probably because we have a common vision of how to improve the country. All names can be found publicly and we are proud of that. As for accusations of conflict of interest, in order to implement major reforms it is necessary to involve the private sector and, as a result of the law, procurements are carried out. This is how Estonia functions as a rule of law in the third decade of the 21st century."
Tsahkna said it is difficult to be innovative and make reforms when, on one hand, political parties face accusations of not listening to entrepreneurs, while at the same time, they are accused of not taking entrepreneurs' views into account.
"The collective term for this is backwardness. Yes, Eesti 200 is a pro-Estonian, pro-innovation, liberal party that listens to what Estonian people and entrepreneurs have to say. And we intend to continue to do so, so that together we can build a country that is an attractive place to work and live in, one that we can be proud of, both ourselves and future generations."
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Editor: Helen Wright
