In all likelihood, the new orange trains are stuck with the nickname Carrots. To the ferries sailing the Väinameri Sea waters, the carrots are tied by a big political cord. In nearest of future, the state owned Port of Tallinn will announce competition to buy Republic of Estonia some ferryboats. If, in a few years, the sale gets sealed, the transport units supported by the state anyhow, one way or another, will again be in its ownership.
About ten years ago, then economy minister Meelis Atonen argued with Vjatšeslav Leedo’s firm over how much the state was supposed to subsidise the Väinameri ferries. This is big politics: to the degree that this very tussle lead to the resignation of Mr Atonen, a minister in Juhan Parts’ cabinet – his office assumed by the current EU summits veteran Andrus Ansip. The basic problem still remains; as expected, it will now be solved by minister Parts, member of Ansip’s cabinet.
What’s the probable good in such a change? As calculated by ministry of economy, taxpayers – read: inhabitants of Estonia – will save some €11m or nearly 200 million Estonian kroons, as passenger trains and ferries come under state ownership. Firstly, state’s capital expenditure is lower – the state gets loans at a substantially lower interests than private entrepreneurs (claim theirs to be). Also: this may not concern all projects, but the state and public enterprises have advantages with using EU funds.
Perhaps a stronger, and logical, argument: the current order of things would motivate any entrepreneur to hide his net income, telling the state (which subsidises him by taxpayer money) that the company’s profits are nonexistent and they are basically paying to do the job: believe, me Mr State, we cannot keep the ferries (trains or what not) going for one day longer.
We cannot prove that railway company or ferry owners would, via their firms, sell over-market-price fuel to a company subsidised by taxpayer money, or manipulate the ticket gains received in cash. Even so, with such big business, there are lots of costs that, at least theoretically, would be inclined to end up in owner’s purse.
Should passenger train and ferry business undergo natural competition, every company owner would work to uncover any fraud. Regrettably, owners of companies running on state subsidies will ever be haunted by the suspicion: what’s in your pockets?