Tallinn mayor candidate: No three-way meeting with Michal and Kõlvart
Urmas Sõõrumaa, nominated by the Reform Party as its candidate for mayor of Tallinn, said he has not had a meeting where he, Center Party leader Mihhail Kõlvart and Reform Party leader Kristen Michal were all present at the same time. However, he has spoken with both of them individually.
"I have spoken with them individually, but the three of us have not met together," Sõõrumaa said on the "Uudis+" program in response to a question about whether, in the past two or three weeks, there have been any meetings where he, Kõlvart and Michal were all present.
According to Sõõrumaa, he is also not aware of any agreement under which the Center Party would have been promised that, if they supported Sõõrumaa as the Reform Party's mayoral candidate, the Reform-led government would agree to fund the construction of a new hospital building in Tallinn.
"I wouldn't speculate on things like that. The topic might come up briefly, but nothing is likely to be done in that timeframe — just over three months," Sõõrumaa said.
"Such matters can't be resolved within a three-month span. My personal opinion is that the major hospitals created in Tallinn serve half of Estonia and a new one will eventually have to be built at the national level. But it's not just about constructing a building — other things need to be worked out as well, especially those relating to patient care," he added.
Sõõrumaa said he has met with Kõlvart twice in the past two days and that Kõlvart has reiterated his position that he does not wish to form a coalition in Tallinn before the elections, nor take on any political posts in the city government. "In the interest of restoring calm and serving city residents, he is willing to support certain initiatives," Sõõrumaa said.
Talk of a possible alliance between the Center Party and the Reform Party — and the collapse of the current ruling coalition in Tallinn — began after the two parties submitted similar amendments to the city's supplementary budget, which would eliminate kindergarten fees in the capital. Both parties have long denied any agreement between them, while the existing coalition in Tallinn — now a three-party alliance of the Social Democrats, Isamaa and Eesti 200 — has insisted that the Reform Party aims to form a new governing coalition with the Center Party.
Prime Minister Michal has previously stated that he does not interfere in local government affairs, that cities are not governed from the national level and that his role is to lead the country, not municipal administrations.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Marko Tooming
