Eesti 200 is holding a congress on Saturday in Tallinn, where the election for new party chair to replace Margus Tsahkna, who is stepping down, will also be held.

The party once enjoyed over 20 percent support, but has in recent weeks found its ratings according to more than one pollster below the 5-percent threshold required to win seats in any electoral district, and behind the non-parliamentary Parempoolsed party.

Party co-founder, former chair and current Education Minister Kristina Kallas is seeking election as party leader.

Kallas told ERR candidly that decision-making processes within the party have been somewhat chaotic over this past year.

She said: " somewhere, the decisions are getting made; a proportion of the board, faction, or local branch members don't understand where these decisions have been coming from."

"The party's routine functioning is in need of being set up," she added.

Another of Eesti 200's ministers, Liisa Pakosta (justice and digital affairs) said she sees the role of the board differently than she had done before, and has called on the party to be more proactive.

Pakosta said: "My opinion is that the board's task should be to define the party's political goals, opportunities and future directions so that they align with the constantly changing life in Estonia and its political landscape."

"Furthermore, we should try to be more proactive than before," Pakosta added.

Igor Taro, an MP and the party's executive director, is also running for reelection to the board.

He said he is confident in the party's future and pledges.

"Eesti 200, as a political phenomenon, is here to stay," Taro said.

Kristina Masen, youth workers' association board member and who is also running fore board membership said she believes the keyword to be "excitement."

"For voters to remain excited, there must be people in every region who exude excitement. And excitement sometimes needs external leadership and shaping," Masen said.

At the same time, Masen also highlighted an issue that comes up for every political party: The development of local branches and the communication of their messages to the party leadership.

There are also those in Eesti 200 who see the party's current poor rating – according to Norstat this week Eesti 200's support is running at a little over 3 percent – is the fault of the media.

Marko Sandre, a regional administrative manager with state real estate firm the RKAS, said the party's website should be converted into a true media channel.

"Our members need to turn from bystanders into 'stars,' with the party as their support system," he said.

Eesti 200 would not be the first party to set up its own media site in order to disseminate its messages. For instance Isamaa runs the Eesti uudised site, EKRE the Uued uudised page.

In any case the thoughts of all board candidates can be found in Estonian on Eesti 200's current website.

As a snapshot of these, MP Peeter Tali, recently appointed chair of the Riigikogu's European Union Affairs Committee, stated he has learned that not every battle lost means a war lost, though turning things around requires "assessing the situation and reorganizing," as well as communicating better.

Daniel Kõiv, who Education Minister Kallas last year hired as an advisor when he was aged 19, remained optimistic, saying the party needs to "work hard, be bold, and make decisions."

Some, such as lawyer and coach Ivo Kappet, said that those who publicly point the finger at other party members without adequate evidence or without being clear "should find themselves a different 'playing field'."

Kristina Kallas and Hendrik Johannes Terras are running as next party chair at the board meeting Saturday, to be held at the at the Proto Invention Factory in Tallinn.

Either will require board support to implement change – as evidenced by current leader Margus Tsahkna failure to do so at his previous party, IRL (now Isamaa), and, more recently, Jüri Ratas feeling he had to step down as Center Party chair due to a board faction who backed current leader Mihhail Kõlvart.

Tsahkna is stepping down from the leadership of Eesti 200 and will no longer run for any leadership positions within the party. He will remain foreign minister.

Tsahkna's predecessor as Eesti 200 chair, Lauri Hussar, a former Postimees editor-in-chief, similarly left the post late last year, in order to concentrate on his role as Riigikogu speaker.

The party's board has eight spots, and 21 candidates are running for them, making for some fierce competition too. Internally, the party is more democratic than most in that all party members who attend the congress on Saturday are eligible to vote in the board elections, including those to party leader.

Since Eesti 200's membership is only around 800 at present (a minimum of 500 members are required under electoral law for a political party to be constituted as such) it also makes for a fairly intimate state of affairs compared with the Reform Party, the Center Party, or EKRE, who have around 10 times the membership and who utilize delegates in internal election voting.

Running for board chair as noted are Kristina Kallas and Hendrik Johannes Terras. The latter also ran at a three-way previous election involving Kallas and Hussar in late 2022, before withdrawing.

Board audit committee candidates are: Marek Reinaas, Ron Luvištšuk, Pille Tsopp-Pagan, Talvit Priimägi, and Renata Lukk.

Candidates for the position of chair of the court of honor are Mait Kornet and Lauri Hussar.

The first major test for Eesti 200's new leadership will be the municipal elections in October 2025.

Eesti 200 won 14 seats at the March 2023 Riigikogu election but has been blighted by controversy since then, including claims of an authoritarian running of the party, a scandal over donations to Ukraine, alleged conflict of interest over forestry rights, and the influence a major donor has over the party and over the national IT association.

Other criticisms the party has faced in some quarters since it was founded in 2018 include a not always clear platform, and of being the fall guy for the Reform Party, which it has been in office with nationally since April last year. The party platform is mostly socially liberal, while education reform and a personalized and digitalized state are among its key policies.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!