Appearing on ETV politics show "Esimene stuudio," Kõlvart elaborated further on the recent events at the city legislature, where his successor as mayor, Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE), was only successfully elected at the third attempt.

This carries with it questions about whether it represents the permissible new European style of leadership, Kõlvart said.

Kõlvart said: "I think today would be the right time to talk about new trends. As is common knowledge, the new [Tallinn] coalition arrived bearing the slogan that it would bring a new, transparent, European, democratic style of management. Yet what did we see on Sunday?"

"We saw that council members have no choice, that rounds of voting continue until the desired result gets achieved. In the meantime, meetings take place and people get arm-twisted and pressurized," he went on.

"Then comes a new round, still one vote short. This is what we saw, and for several hours, on Sunday. We also saw images of what council members had been required to do to prove their loyalty. So my question is, is this the new European style of leadership?"

Kõlvart declined to respond to the host's question about whether he accepts the status quo in Tallinn now, or is considering steps to retake office in the capital.

He said: "I certainly believe that we have democracy. The city council has to decide. Right now, the coalition has 40 votes, the opposition 39; that's the political math. But unfortunately, in politics, it's the math that counts more than the ideology, alas."

Kõlvart indicated that the size of the coalition's 40 votes is a concern for the coalition itself. "As practice shows, or as was actually demonstrated at Sunday's council meeting, even if someone thinks differently or perhaps doesn't want to support the coalition's decisions, within a few hours arguments are found to change that state of affairs," the former mayor said.

According to Kõlvart, the Social Democrats are constantly trying to persuade members of the Center Party faction to switch sides; the two parties had been in coalition in Tallinn from late 2021 until earlier this month, and share common ground on some issues.

He said: "This is a very painful topic that is currently unraveling. Our faction members are constantly being contacted and in various ways, to suggest that the better solution for them—especially those who work within the city system—would indeed be to join the Social Democrats."

"And I say that some people—one of them is a very well-known person—have said that they cannot endure this much longer; that they are not traitors, but they will give up their mandate, to let someone else from the Center Party come in so there can be no betrayal on their part, but at the end of the day cannot fight this."

"Now this is a much bigger threat to democracy, whereby well-known people who carry some clout do not want to engage in politics, because they see what it can entail," Kõlvart went on, without naming names.

Jevgeni Ossinovski became Mayor of Tallinn in the third round of voting, thanks to Urmo Saareoja, a Center Party member and director of the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Tallinna lauluväljak) switching his vote.

Kõlvart said he does not blame Saareoja for this.

He said: "This is yet another example of what has been going on, actually."

"I sincerely feel sorry that it happened to him. But I do not blame him. I feel no animosity towards him. What is there to blame; that a person is in such a situation that, at the last instant, he had to 'change colors'? I think it was a very difficult choice for him, and it is that person who forced him to act this way who is responsible," Kõlvart went on, referring to Ossinovski, who, according to Saareoja, requested his support.

Kõlvart: New city coalition mimicking the national coalition

Kõlvart also told "Esimene stuudio" that it is the opposition's duty to highlight the actions of those in office, from the opposition's viewpoint. "And right now, the most competent opposition is at the city council: Former deputy mayors, district mayors, the former mayor," he added, referring to the Center Party's former Tallinn leadership.

He added that he believes that the new city government in Tallinn is acting in the same way as the central government has done.

"The first steps being taken are very similar to what is happening and has happened in the country. We were just informed that they want to take loans and bring in all sorts of new, nice things: Either the daycare fee will be eliminated or cut; now they will start pushing snow more than before and so on. But all this requires millions, and the solution lies right there—let us take out loans for operating expenses," Kõlvart said.

"I would like to remind you that there are one-and-a-half years left until the [local] elections. Similarly, ahead of the Riigikogu elections, the same parties, in this case, including Isamaa, handed out pay raises to teachers, and boosted support. And what happened after the elections? That money gets taken back via taxes. And I'm afraid that the same will happen in Tallinn now. For the next 18 months, they will try to dole out as much as possible, so that after the elections, the new city government bears responsibility for what they are doing now," he added.

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