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Elagu Eesti.

If you stand, you must stand up

Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the elections and we know that the current government will likely continue in it’s present form, it is time to take a look at what is for me, one of the most disturbing issues of the recent contest.

This is the issue of people standing for election, but not taking up their seats when they win. Edgar Savisaar is the most high profile example of this, although by no means is this a Centre Party issue – candidates in both Reform and the Social Democrats are just as guilty. In my (somewhat rose tinted) view, standing for your national parliament is something to be taken with the utmost seriousness. It is a duty to be undertaken soberly and with full respect for the legislature – not something that can be tossed aside if you lose interest. A certain Social Democrat has told Postimees that he will only take up his seat if his party enters the coalition, displaying a striking contempt for the role of legislator.

It also displays a huge disrespect for the electorate – when they go and vote, they are not only voting for a party but are influenced by the politicians they see day in day our on television and in newspapers. Soliciting votes when you have no intention of taking your seat is blatant deception of the highest order. The votes of the public are not a commodity to be re-assigned at a candidate’s whim – they are the building blocks of democratic society and should be valued above all else.

 

Final (more or less) election results in

These charts will be updated automatically as the result closes but they are more or less accurate. It is interesting to note that the voting system awards a slightly higher percentage of seats compared to the percentage of votes received.

Percentage of seats by party

Percentage of votes per party

 

 

Election votes thus far

A double pie chart of the election results so far – the outer ring is percentage of votes, the inner ring is percentage of seats.

 

 

Despite flaws, Ansip must win

Despite not being everybody’s favourite candidate, I think it is only sensible to wish to see Andrus Ansip to remain Prime Minster of Estonia. We are all aware that he and Reform pledged to double pensions (and have only managed to increase them by 50%) and of countless other “politicians promises” that he (and other parties made). Yet even with this, he is the only real choice to lead Estonia.

Number of days per Estonian PM

Nobody would have thought that Estonia would make one of the quickest recoveries in the Eurozone – in a world where all governments are cutting back on public services in order to save money, Estonis leads the way in deficit reduction and is in an enviable economic position. Ansip also steered Estonia’s economy towards meeting the criteria for entry to the Eurozone, making it the only baltic state thus far to do so. He has also led one of the most stable governments that the Baltic region has ever known, and has served more days than any other post-independence Prime Minister has. For all his faults, he is the obvious choice and I hope this is recognised tomorrow.

Down and out

Postimees has reported that the Centre Party has lost almost a third of its support amongst Russian voters according to a recent poll. This is somewhat unsurprising when you take a look at the towns where the Centre Party runs the government – take for example the contrasting locations of Johvi and Kohtla-Jarva. Johvi’s local government and mayor belong to the Reform party and the town has enjoyed a rejuvenation in recent years, with shopping centres and other new constructions making it an ideal place to either live or travel to for pleasure. When contrasted with Kohtla-Jarva, administered by the Centre Party, the difference is clear. Kohtla-Jarva has suffered for years from gross mismanagement, lack of investment and poor planning. If you look at voting intentions for Ida-Viru as a whole, it is telling that it is the only county in Estonia where those who are planning not to vote outnumber those who will.

This cannot all be put at the feet of the Centre Party – there are many factors involved. However you cannot deny that where the Centre Party were popular, they now seem to be facing decline. How much this can be attributed to their leader, Edgar Savisaar is unclear, although his scandal after scandal image cannot have enhanced the Centre Party’s reputation amongst the Estonian public. Perhaps it could finally be time for Savisaar to hang up his political gloves for good and embark on a quiet retirement? I suspect the result of the election will make uncomfortable viewing in the Centre Party HQ.

Chart of the day: Health by county

Today’s chart of the day displays the health status of persons aged 16 or over by county. As you can see, there are some interesting cases, notable Polva and Ida-Viru, the only two counties where “very good or good” is not the highest category. Superimposed over the columns is a single line which represents the percentage of the population over 60. It is interesting to note that a large elderly population does not always correlate with the health status of the county.

Happy Birthday Estonia

In English there is an old saying – when you have a birthday, you are not getting older, you are getting wiser. This is especially true for Estonia. 

When the Estonian Salvation Committee proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, little did they know that 93 years, one World War and one Cold War later, it would be celebrated with equal vigour by a nation that has rejected all forms of domination and crafted itself a unique and enviable position within Europe. The Estonia of 2011 stands proud – not only of it’s heritage and history, but of it’s bright and exciting future.

Estonia…

• is 12th on the Index of Economic Freedom
• is 24th on the Ease of Doing Business Index
• is 21st on the Capital Access Index
• is a member of the UN, EU, Eurozone, WTO, OECD & NATO
• has received more foreign investment per capita in the second half of the 1990s than any other country in Central and Eastern Europe
• is hosting the European Capital of Culture for 2011
• a world leader in IT and e-government
• has one of the highest internet penetration levels in the world
• is classified as a high income country by the World Bank
• has very low (3.8%) public debt

Not bad for a country that just much over 20 years ago had scarcely any freedoms or economic activity whatsoever. This is not to say all is perfect. Unemployment is still a problem, pensions are too low, there are not enough teachers in schools and alcohol consumption is far too high. However Estonia has earned itself a day of celebration and must enjoy it – for all its problems, I cannot think of another country I think of as fondly as Estonia.

Chart of the day: Alcohol consumption still rising

The media this week has been reporting on the recent WHO (World Health Organisation) report that Estonia ranks sixth in the world for total alcohol consumption per capita. It’s interesting to delve slightly deeper into the statistics to see the real extent of Estonia’s relationship with old mother liquor. Firstly, it is important to note the date on the stats reported by the WHO – they all date from 2005. If you look at the historical facts, you

Alcohol consumption per capita

notice a sharp increase in consumption over the last decade – the cause of which I will not deliberate further on, but it could be attributable to a better economic climate or government health policy. Whilst statistics for total consumption for years after 2005 aren’t available,  the figures for beer and spirits are (up until 2007). What is slightly disturbing, is that based on them, Estonia consumption of spirits per capita was still on the rise as of 2007. Whilst we cannot speculate what the post 2007 figures and trends are, it is unlikely they are on the decline – although I would be very interested by the effect of the recession on consumption.

Chart of the day: Local government spending per county

Our latest chart shows local government spending per resident, per county, per year. The

Local govt spending per person, per county in EUR

data was simply obtained from Eesti Statistikat – the population of each county for 2009 and local government spending were used to calculate spending per resident. As you can see there are some variances (as to be expected), with Harju county (incl Tallinn) topping the list Ida-Viru coming in last, with almost one third less spending per resident. There are many reasons for the disparities, the most obvious of which would be that some areas have fewer tax payers as a proportion of the population, hence tax revenues are lower.