Reform's regional chief calls on Tallinn opposition parties to join forces

Photo: PEETER LANGOVITS/PM/SCANPIX

Valdo Randpere, head of the Tallinn chapter of the Reform Party, has called on parties that form the opposition in the council of the capital city to work together during the run-up to this fall's local elections to offer voters a clear alternative to the Center Party.

"In our opinion it would be right to tell voters already before the elections that if the outcome permits, IRL, Social Democrats and the Reform Party will govern Tallinn together and that we are the alternative, not each party separately," Randpere said. He said that people needed a realistic alternative, that if they prefer the city to be managed in a different manner there exists a realistic possibility to achieve it.

As Randpere said, the city must start making investments looking at the needs of all its residents. "Look at the streets of Tallinn, what situation they are in, look at the kindergartens, look at the properties that they've been trying to sell for years. Linnahall is a good example of the ability on the leaders of Tallinn to manage the city or do whatever sort of business that would be in the interest of the city," Randpere said of the city government consisting entirely of the Center Party, the largest opposition force in the national parliament.

The MP described the remote heating system as one of the biggest causes of concern, saying that the city was making only minimum investment in networks in order to be able to take out the whole profit from the heat provider AS Tallinna Küte every year. The average age of remote heating transmission networks is 25 years and over the past five years their average age has grown by nine years, making their blasting in the middle of the winter a real threat. Thermal energy losses in the system amount to 17 percent, he said.

Public transport uses up 14 percent of the city's budget, said Randpere. "Instead of dealing with the topic of public transport over the years, investing in it or creating competition, doing something that would raise its quality, it's been let out of hand to the extent where it's better to throw the whole thing away," he said. "And what we have now are broken-down buses roaring on along awful bottomless streets, which besides everything else are dark," he said.

Last, Randpere highlighted corruption. "Nobody cares to point attention to it because it's just the way the Center Party is, but that's not normal either," Randpere said.

The head of the Tallinn chapter of Social Democrats (SDE), Andres Anvelt, dismissed Randpere's call as populism.

"It's rather the same thing that has been repeated by Randpere and the Reform Party all the time over the past year, that all the opposition forces together should tie the knot and start very intense cooperation before the elections, which is absolutely unfathomable," Anvelt told BNS. He said Randpere's invitation could be partially explained with the wish to improve the rating of the Reform Party that has taken a blow in recent months.

The Tallinn opposition does have a format of working together in the council, Anvelt said. "But, speaking of elections, I see in this a wish of the Reform Party to come out yet another time with the kind of populism that who isn't with them, is for [Center Party chairman Edgar] Savisaar," said Anvelt, adding that SDE was determined to face the polls with its own program, ticket and mayoral candidate.