EDITORIAL ⟩ A criminal party

«200 million for rural life» – «250 million for employee income» – «25 million for sport» – «300 million for companies» – «200 million for medical workers» – «100 million for local government» A group of Estonian millionaires supporting sectors in need «I apologize again» «Do we make the next advert at the funeral of some COVID victim?» «How time flies. It seems like only yesterday that the Central Criminal Party had an agreement with United Russia and while in government adverts were made for party leaders using taxpayer money.» «But what about those Center Party people under whose smart leadership the crime was committed and who now hide themselves within other parties.» Illustration: Urmas Nemvalts

• The future of the Center Party depends on the party itself.
• Cooperation with the Center Party must be ruled out.
• The withdrawal of state budget support is justified.

As long as the Center Party does not admit its mistakes, other political parties must not cooperate with the Center Party. Also, taxpayers are not required to pay for the funding of a political party that has been punished pursuant to criminal procedure.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court found Hillar Teder, Mihhail Korb and the Estonian Center Party conclusively guilty of influence peddling in the Porto Franco case. In addition to the suspended sentences for Teder and Korb, the Center Party must pay a fine of altogether one million euros to the state. The Porto Franco scandal led to the resignation of the then Center Party leader Jüri Ratas as prime minister in 2021.

The Center Party, which lost a number of prominent members after Mihhail Kõlvart became its chairman, seemed to regain some vitality when popular politician and former EKRE (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) member Jaak Madison joined the party. It seemed that the party was overcoming the crisis. However, the Porto Franco case constantly hung over the party like the sword of Damocles.

It is clear that much now depends on the Center Party itself when it comes to the question of what the future of the party will look like. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no desire to admit one’s mistakes; Mihhail Korb, who was the party's secretary general during the Porto Franco case, has not been expelled from the party. The perception dating back to the time of Edgar Savisaar, which is that the Center Party seemingly stands apart from the rest of the Estonian legal system, persists.

However, in order for voters to punish the sins of the Center Party, other parties must already issue the signal that cooperation with the Center Party is ruled out.

Other parties must not accept this perception and must avoid the temptation to cooperate with the Center Party. Local elections must send a signal about how voters receive the criminal punishment of one party. However, in order for voters to punish the sins of the Center Party, other parties must already issue the signal that cooperation with the Center Party is ruled out. Therefore, there is no point in electing a party that will not come to power anyway. At the same time, we have seen that it was in Tallinn that the Center Party was able to govern essentially unopposed for almost 20 years – if the current coalition fails to govern the city, there is a possibility that a party that has been punished pursuant to criminal procedure will once again govern the capital.

The taxpayer must not pay for crime. Therefore, it seems completely justified to amend the laws so that a political party with a criminal conviction is deprived of state budget support. Looking at how the Center Party is collecting donations to pay off the fine imposed by the Supreme Court, it can be assumed that the implementation of such a legal clause will make the party's future even more complicated.

Unfortunately, the punishment of the Center Party is not limited to one party or local government. For years, Estonia has been annoyed when it is called a former Soviet republic, because we have been members of both the European Union and NATO for over two decades, and therefore full members of the Western world. Yet the capital has been governed like the Byzantine Empire, where shady deals are part of the culture of governance. It is a pity that the Supreme Court was now needed to draw a clear line between West and East. The question is where the other parties now want to belong.