ERJK: Former finance minister's appearance in Škoda ad a prohibited donation

The Estonian Political Party Funding Supervision Committee (ERJK) has found that the participation of former Minister of Finance Mart Võrklaev (Reform) in an advertisement for a Škoda dealership should be considered as a form of prohibited donation, which Võrklaev must therefore pay for.
The ERJK began investigating Võrklaev's participation in an advertisement for a Škoda car dealership in December, to determine whether it could be considered political advertising and thus a form of prohibited donation.
ERJK Chair Liisa Oviir told ERR that the committee's previous position on the situation remains unchanged. In their view, Võrklaev's appearance in the ad was a form of political advertising and should be paid for accordingly.
"To determine how to price it, we will ask the other players in the market for the average price. Politicians have an obligation to pay the average market price," Oviir said.
Oviir said, however, that this is only the first stage of the process and that a letter of consultation, including costs, will now be drafted and sent to Võrklaev.
"Then it will be up to him to decide whether he accepts the decision and pays accordingly, or whether he wants to raise further objections. Only after that do we issue an ruling, which will already be binding or appealable in court. So we are only half way there," said Oviir.
According to Oviir, the commission examined the explanations it had received from Võrklaev, concluding that they did not adequately answer the questions posed. For example, Oviir said Võrklaev compared himself to other politicians who had taken part in TV shows, though this was not the reason for the ERJK's investigation. "Our questions were only about advertising. And advertising is an entirely different genre [to TV]. Advertising is the promotion of something or someone, and it is generally done for a fee," Oviir said.
"The commission stands by its view that this was an advertisement that promoted Mart Võrklaev as a politician. The fact that Mart Võrklaev did not receive any payment for it, as he has stated, is again, something that does not concern us directly. The commission is only concerned with the supervision of politics and the funding of political parties," Oviir added.
If a politician receives a service, they are required to pay for that service, according to the Political Parties Act, Oviir said.
Former Minister of Finance Mart Võrklaev, who played himself in the TV series "Alo," said he took part in the project because he respects the makers and actors involved the series and appreciates good humor. He was not paid for his appearance.
The series takes place at a Tallinn Škoda dealership, Rohe Auto. It was Rohe Auto that shared a clip from the series on social media with a caption urging people to buy a new car before the much-discussed car tax comes into force.
However, the ERJK decided to initiate proceedings against Võrklaev to establish whether this ought to be considered a form of personal political advertising and, if so, who paid for the commercial.
Võrklaev believed his participation in the Škoda ad did not constitute political advertising. In his view, the fact that the ERJK opened proceedings against him, deprives politicians of the courage to participate in similar projects, and that ultimately it is a loss to their cultural life.
According to Oviir, this allegation against the ERJK is misplaced. "In my opinion, this is unfair to our commission, because the work of our commission is regulated only by the Political Parties Act, and according to that law, we only deal with the issues of the funding of politicians of political parties. In other words, only with politics. We don't deal with cultural life and we certainly have no influence on it, we leave that to the professionals any case," Oviir said.
Oviir added that the danger in this case is that other forms of political advertising could be hidden or placed almost anywhere.
"To say this is legitimate opens the door to hidden forms of funding, and that is why the legislature in 2011 banned donations from legal entities," Oviir said
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