Estonians
are going to the polls in elections dominated by economic issues. But the vote
is also marked by unease over neighboring Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
Deutsche Welle, 1 March 2015
Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas (Foto: dpa) |
Estonians
were voting on Sunday in parliamentary elections that opinion polls suggest are
likely to see the current center-left coalition under Prime Minister Taavi
Roivas (pictured above) returned to power.
A TNS Emor
opinion poll released on Saturday showed Roivas' pro-market Reform Party in the
lead with a predicted 26 percent of the vote, ahead of the Center Party of
Edgar Savisaar on 22 percent.
Roivas'
coalition partners, the Social Democrats, were on 19 percent. Seven other
parties are also in the running at Sunday's vote, including the conservative
IRL, which commanded 16 percent in the pre-election survey
The main
parties have all campaigned on social issues, with promises to increase the
minimum wage, reducing taxes for low earners and improving family benefits
figuring largely in their platforms.
Russia's
long shadow
However,
the vote is also being overshadowed by fears over ex-Soviet master Russia's
actions in Ukraine, following Moscow's annexation of Crimea earlier last year
amid widespread allegations that it is fomenting and militarily supporting a
separatist insurgency in the east of the country.
Many in
Estonia are concerned that the Kremlin could attempt to destabilize other
nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Savisaar,
64, a former Communist Party member and current mayor of the capital city
Tallinn, alienated many Estonians last year by supporting the Crimean
annexation, but still enjoys considerable backing among the ethnic Russians who
make up a quarter of the Baltic country's population of 1.3 million.
It is
unlikely, however, that his party, which in some earlier polls scored better
than the government coaltion, would find partners with which to govern in case
of victory.
'New Nordic
nation'
Roivas -
who at 35 is the youngest head of government in the European Union - has
promised to turn Estonia into a "new Nordic country" by boosting
economic growth in the eurozone state.
NATO put on a display of power in Narva |
To mark
Estonia's Independence Day, the US and other NATO troops paraded on Tuesday
through the city of Narva on the Russian border in what was seen as a
demonstration of solidarity within the military alliance.
Ninety
percent of the 60,000 people living in Narva, one of the poorest cities in the
EU, are ethnic Russians.
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