Estonian Reform Party
Estonian Reform Party Eesti Reformierakond | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Kaja Kallas |
General Secretary | Timo Suslov |
Founder | Siim Kallas |
Founded | 18 November 1994 |
Merger of |
|
Headquarters | Tallinn, Tõnismägi 9 10119 |
Newspaper | Paremad Uudised Reformikiri |
Youth wing | Estonian Reform Party Youth |
Membership (2021) | 11,262[1] |
Ideology | Liberalism (Estonian) |
Political position | |
European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party |
International affiliation | Liberal International |
European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
Colours |
|
Slogan | "Parem Eesti kõigile" "A Better Estonia for Everyone" |
Riigikogu | 38 / 101 |
Municipalities | 244 / 1,717 |
European Parliament | 2 / 7 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
reform | |
The Estonian Reform Party (Estonian: Eesti Reformierakond) is a liberal political party in Estonia.[2][3] The party has been led by Kaja Kallas since 2018. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" (Estonian: Oravapartei), referencing its logo.[4][5]
It was founded in 1994 by
History
The Estonian Reform Party was founded on 18 November 1994,
Siim Kallas
Siim Kallas was leader of the Reform Party from 1994 to 2004. He was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2002 to 2003. In the party's first parliamentary election in March 1995, it won 19 seats, catapulting it into second place, behind the Coalition Party. Tiit Vähi tried to negotiate a coalition with the Reform Party, but the talks broke down over economic policy,[8] with the Reform Party opposing agricultural subsidies and supporting the maintenance of Estonia's flat-rate income tax.[7] While the Coalition Party formed a new government with the Centre Party at first, a taping scandal involving Centre Party leader Edgar Savisaar led to the Reform Party replacing the Centre Party in the coalition in November 1995.[9] Kallas was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, with five other Reform Party members serving in the cabinet. The Reform Party left the government in November 1996 after the Coalition Party signed a cooperation agreement with the Centre Party without consulting them.[9]
At the
The party served in government again from March 1999 to December 2001 in a tripartite government with
Andrus Ansip
Andrus Ansip was Prime Minister of Estonia from April 2005 to March 2014. After the 2007 parliamentary election the party held 31 out of 101 seats in the Riigikogu, receiving 153,040 votes (28% of the total), an increase of +10%, resulting in a net gain of 12 seats.
Taavi Rõivas
Following the resignation of Andrus Ansip, a new
In the 2014 European elections held on 25 May 2014, the Reform Party won 24.3% of the national vote, returning two MEPs.[14]
In the 2015 parliamentary election held on 1 March 2015, the Reform Party received 27.7% of the vote and 30 seats in the Riigikogu.[15] It went on to form a coalition with Social Democratic Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. In November 2016, the coalition split because of internal struggle.[16] After coalition talks, a new coalition was formed between Center Party, SDE and IRL, while Reform Party was left in the opposition for the first time since 1999.[17] Rõivas subsequently stepped down as the chairman of the party.[18]
Hanno Pevkur
On 7 January 2017, Hanno Pevkur was elected the new chairman of the Reform Party.[19] Pevkur's leadership was divided from the start and he faced increasing criticism till the end of the year. On 13 December 2017, Pevkur announced that he would not run for the chairmanship from January 2018.[20]
Kaja Kallas
Kaja Kallas was elected party leader on 14 April 2018.[21]
Under Kallas' leadership during the
In January 2021, after the resignation of
In the
Ideology and platform
This section needs to be updated.(March 2023) |
Described as being on the centre,[30][31] centre-right,[32] or right-wing[33] of the political spectrum, the Estonian Reform Party has variously been described in its ideological orientation as liberal,[2][3][34] classical-liberal,[35][36] liberal-conservative,[37][38] and conservative-liberal.[39][40] The party has consistently advocated policies of economic liberalism[11][41] and fiscal conservatism,[42] and has also been described as neoliberal.[33][43]
- The party supports Estonian 0% corporate tax on re-invested income and wants to eliminate the dividend tax.
- The party wanted to cut flat income tax rate from 22% (in 2007) to 18% by 2011. Because of the economic crisis, the campaign for cutting income tax rate was put on hold with the tax rate at 21% in 2008 and 2009.
- The party used to oppose VAT general rate increases until late spring 2009, when it changed its position in the light of the dire economic crisis and the need to find more money for the budget. VAT was increased from 18% to 20% on 1 July 2009.[44]
Political support
This section needs to be updated.(September 2021) |
The party is supported predominantly by young, well-educated, urban professionals. The Reform Party's vote base is heavily focused in the cities; although it receives only one-fifth of its support from Tallinn, it receives three times as many votes from other cities, despite them being home to fewer than 40% more voters overall.[45]
Its voter profile is significantly younger than average,[46] while its voters are well-educated, with the fewest high school drop-outs of any party.[45] Its membership is the most male-dominated of all the parties,[47] yet it receives the support of more female voters than average.[46] Reform Party voters also tend to have higher incomes, with 43% of Reform Party voters coming from the top 30% of all voters by income.[45]
Organisation
This article needs to be updated.(December 2016) |
The Reform Party has been a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (formerly the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, ELDR) since December 1998.[48] In the European Parliament, the party's MEPS Andrus Ansip and Urmas Paetsits in the ALDE group in the Assembly. The Reform Party has been a full member of the Liberal International since 1996, having been an observer member from 1994 to 1996.
The party claims to have 12,000 members.[49]
The party's youth wing is the Estonian Reform Party Youth, which includes members aged 15 to 35. The organisation claims to have 4,500 members, and its chairman is Doris Lisett Rudnevs.[50]
Electoral results
Parliamentary elections
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 87,531 | 16.2 (#2) | 19 / 101
|
19 | Opposition (1995) |
Coalition (1995–1996) | |||||
Opposition (1996–1999) | |||||
1999 | 77,088 | 15.9 (#3) | 18 / 101
|
1 | Coalition |
2003 | 87,551 | 17.7 (#3) | 19 / 101
|
1 | Coalition |
2007 | 153,044 | 27.8 (#1) | 31 / 101
|
12 | Coalition |
2011 | 164,255 | 28.6 (#1) | 33 / 101
|
2 | Coalition |
2015 | 158,885 | 27.7 (#1) | 30 / 101
|
3 | Coalition (2015–2016) |
Opposition (2016–2019) | |||||
2019 | 162,332 | 28.8 (#1) | 34 / 101
|
4 | Opposition (2019–2021) |
Coalition (2021–2023) | |||||
2023 | 190,632 | 31.2 (#1) | 37 / 101
|
3 | Coalition |
European Parliament elections
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 28,377 | 12.2 (#3) | 1 / 6
|
|
2009 | 79,849 | 15.3 (#3) | 1 / 6
|
0 |
2014 | 79,849 | 24.3 (#1) | 2 / 6
|
1 |
2019 | 87,158 | 26.2 (#1) | 2 / 7
|
0 |
European representation
In the European Parliament, the Estonian Reform Party sits in the Renew Europe group with two MEPs.[51][52]
In the European Committee of the Regions, the Estonian Reform Party sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with two full and one alternate members for the 2020–2025 mandate.[53][54]
See also
References
- ^ "Äriregistri teabesüsteem" (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-317-93533-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-139-48750-4.
- S2CID 216522189.
- ^ "Estonia: Kaja Kallas and the liberal Estonia of the future". www.freiheit.org. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Bugajski (2002), p. 64
- ^ a b Nørgaard (1999), p. 75
- ISBN 978-1-85898-837-5.
- ^ a b Europa Publications (1998), p 336
- ^ a b c Bugajski (2002), p. 52
- ^ a b Berglund et al (2004), p 67
- ^ Bugajski (2002), p. 53
- ^ "Estonia swears in EU's youngest PM, Taavi Roivas". Vanguard News. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Euroopa Parlamendi valimised". ep2014.vvk.ee.
- ^ "Riigikogu valimised". rk2015.vvk.ee.
- ^ "Prime Minister loses no confidence vote, forced to resign". ERR. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ "49th cabinet of Estonia sworn in under Prime Minister Jüri Ratas". ERR. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "Reform Party chairmanship debate behind closed doors, internal voting to end on Thursday". ERR. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Hanno Pevkur elected new Reform Party chairman". ERR. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Pevkur not to run for Reform lead again, Kallas not announcing yet". ERR. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Estonia's struggling Reform Party picks first female leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Kaja Kallas to become Estonia's first female prime minister". euronews. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Estonian prime minister dismisses junior coalition partner from government". 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Reform, SDE, Isamaa strike coalition agreement". 8 July 2022.
- ^ "Estonia's Reform Party starts coalition government talks". The Independent. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "SDE leader: Coalition agreement ready, includes tax changes". 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Coalition agreement: VAT, income tax to rise by 2 percentage points". 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Gallery: Reform, Eesti 200 and SDE sign coalition agreement". Err. 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Riigikogu gives Kaja Kallas mandate to form new government". Err. 12 April 2023.
- ^ Garlick, Stuart; Sibierski, Mary (1 March 2015). "Estonia's pro-NATO Reform party wins vote overshadowed by Russia". AFP via Yahoo! News. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
"The Reform Party is the 2015 winner of the parliamentary elections," Roivas announced on Estonia's ERR public television late Sunday as official results showed his centrist Reform party won despite losing three seats.
- ^ Walker, Shaun. "Racism, sexism, Nazi economics: Estonia's far right in power". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ISBN 978-3-030-21844-7.. EURACTIV.com with Reuters. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- Osborne, Samuel (4 March 2019). "Estonia election: Far right surges as centre-right Reform party pulls off surprise win". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- "Estonia general election: Opposition party beats Centre rivals". BBC News. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- "Pro-EU opposition wins Estonian elections, far right makes big gains"
Cited sources
- Bugajski, Janusz (2002). Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era. London: M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-1-56324-676-0.
- Europa Publications (1998). Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85743-058-5.
- Nørgaard, Ole (1999). The Baltic States After Independence. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85898-837-5.
- Berglund, Sten; Ekman, Joakim; Aarebrot, Frank H. (2004). The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84064-854-6.
- Kulik, Anatoly; Pshizova, Susanna (2005). Political Parties in Post-Soviet Space: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Baltics. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-97344-5.
External links
- Official website (in Estonian)
- Estonian Reform Party faction description of the party on the Riigikogu website