Postimees Digest, Wednesday, May 29
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IRL sets up Kross for mayor of Tallinn.
Pro Patria Res Publica Union (IRL) announced yesterday that it will set up security expert Eerik-Niiles Kross as its mayoral candidate for Tallinn. Kross says in an interview to Postimees that the conflict between the central government and Tallinn has gone too far and that it is time for change. Kross speculates that the constant animosity between Center Party-run Tallinn and the right wing government is costing the state in the vicinity of 1 percent of GDP and is standing in the way of national and regional development. "I see that it is possible to create a sensible coalition in Tallinn that would stop politicking and engage in levelheaded city management," Kross says. He adds that the Center Party actually does a disservice to its mainly Russian-speaking constituency by isolating them from society but admits that other major parties have done little to win over the Russian community. When asked about how he imagines himself communicating with Russian mayors in a situation where he is a fugitive in the country, Kross says that it is better for Tallinn to have a mayor on the wanted list of Russian investigative organs than that of Estonian ones.
Audit office shoots down public service academy move plan.
The National Audit Office has concluded that moving the Estonian Public Service Academy to Ida-Viru County would be hugely expensive and would have a decimating effect on quality of tuition. Auditor General Alar Karis writes in his letter to the government that moving the agency would result in Estonia's most expensive student places, that the state lacks funds to construct a new building for the academy and that quality of studies would deteriorate catastrophically as a result. The audit office also found that the move would have next to no effect in terms of regional policy. The agency estimates the project would cost between 63.8 and 66.5 million euros and points out that two thirds of current professors questioned would not move to Ida-Viru County even if it meant a salary advance.