Parties see no problem with membership declining

In recent years, the number of members in all parliamentary parties except the Eesti 200 has decreased. The parties themselves do not see this as a problem.
Party membership peaked in Estonia in 2005, when 61,965 people belonged to a political party. In 2020, party affiliation was about 4.5 percent of the population.
Over the past two years, the number of members of all parties in the National Assembly has decreased, except for the Estonian 200. The largest decrease was in the Center Party, which fell from 14,352 to 12,381 members.
The Estonian Conservative People's Party has risen to second place in terms of membership, with 9,766 members, 12 more than the Reform Party, according to the latest figures from the Business Register.
In terms of membership, Eesti 200, the smallest party in the Riigikogu, is the only one that has grown over the past two years. Compared to the beginning of the year, however, the number of Eesti 200 members has fallen from 916 to 849.
The parties do not see the decline in their membership as a problem. Anneli Ott, the Center Party's general secretary, sees the change in membership as part of the party's functioning. "Throughout its history, the Center Party has had a number of 'waves of exits' and has always emerged stronger from them," she said, commenting on the party's lowest membership in a decade following the resignation of former leader Jüri Ratas.
She said that she sees the recent wave of defections as having a positive effect on the party's internal climate. "This time it was the desire of the former Center Party members who left the leadership to find a more favorable ground for the promotion of their personal careers, and this betrayal has had a positive effect on the internal structure of the party, the motivation and cohesion of our members are high."
Timo Suslov, general secretary of the Reform Party, sees fluctuations in membership as a natural part of a democratic society. "People have a free choice to belong where they see fit."
Suslov cited dissatisfaction with a law or policy, as well as members' own inactivity within the party, as reasons for leaving. "The number of members in itself is not necessarily an indicator of the quality of an organization, the celebration of democracy has always been the elections."
Ott sees the general decline in party membership as a sign that people feel they have little chance of participating in politics. "People's disengagement from politics is mainly linked to the deepening of a political culture in which citizens feel they have no power to intervene," Ott said.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa