Eesti 200's Tallinn faction and representatives of the city council faction met Jurtšenko – formerly a member of Center – on Friday.

Members decided that Jurtšenko was not a reliable candidate for district elder, but SD is responsible for the final decision.

Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200), the deputy mayor of education in Tallinn, said the transition to Estonian language education in the capital's biggest district should not be led by someone who publically criticized the reform earlier this summer.

"This is a question of values, and it is difficult for Eesti 200 to believe that a change of political party will bring about a 180-degree change in positions. The distrust was also fuelled by a leaked letter from within the Center Party, in which the candidate admits that her conscience does not allow him to support a switch to Estonian-language education. It is hypocritical that a few weeks later someone tries to convince the public otherwise. Lasnamäe needs a credible spokesperson and a strong leader to make the reform of the transition to Estonian education a success," he said.

"There were already doubts about the suitability of the candidate, and today's meeting did not give any more confidence in the Eesti 200". "We need to have a serious discussion with our coalition partners on how to move forward in this situation," he stated. 

Jašin, Eesti 200's Tallinn faction deputy leader, said Reform's idea to create a support unit in Lasnamäe district government for the transition to Estonian-language education is not necessary.

"In a situation where we are looking for cutbacks in the city system, we cannot support the creation of an additional unit, which would entail unnecessary additional costs and duplication, as at least six people are working in the Education Department on a daily basis in the Lasnamäe direction," he said. 

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