Parties' local elections platforms focus on jobs, investments, cutting bureaucracy
Estonia's main political parties' local election programs focus on job creation, economic development, infrastructure, and attracting larger investments into municipalities.
Regional tax differentials could encourage investing in municipalities, the Center Party finds.
"This will certainly enliven the local market, and will give companies the opportunity to invest in certain regions. Naturally we should choose these regions ourselves, but this is certainly one option on how to get jobs and business into more remote regions," Center MP and the party's deputy chair Lauri Laats told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
The Social Democrats (SDE) sees as an issue employee mobility.
"You may indeed get an employee, yet this employee lives very far away [and] there are no nearby living places. In that case, rental housing has to be found, either together with business, or with the state. This problem is such that, apart from Tartu and Tallinn, essentially all municipalities are talking about this worry," SDE chairman Lauri Läänemets said.
The Reform Party is focusing on investments.
"We have really been seeing in recent years that where there is that feeling of whether we can make investments at all, whether local residents are consulted, how local municipalities plan, and how easy it is to handle business in some municipalities. This is what local councils can use to strengthen entrepreneurship," Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) said.
Parempoolsed want municipalities to help companies wishing to invest and, for example, assign a client manager.
The party's deputy chair, Siim Kiilser, listed cutting down on bureaucracy and being an ally of business and job creation as the rationale here.
Meanwhile Isamaa also references job creation and slashing bureaucracy in its pre-election platform, as well as a lower energy price contribute.XXX
Eesti 200 too calls for more affordable energy price, and also better public transport in the localities.
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) says it would reduce taxes and electricity prices, and stated opposition to large wind farms, in its pre-election manifesto.
The Green Party (Rohelised) wants to bring investments more precisely into the circular economy, and to support youth employment.
In addition to parties, voters at local elections often have the choice of voting for an electoral alliance, which usually focuses on region-specific issues. Independents also run.
The electorate at this year's local elections contains nearly 72,000 fewer voters, following a constitutional amendment which passed in March and which bars voting for third country nationals (non-EU) resident in Estonia.
Another change compared with the last local elections in 2021 is the absence of so-called "protection money," issued as part of the state budget to parties to spend on regional projects of their choice. This was criticized as merely being a sweetener for voting in favor of the state budget, and since local in nature, came into particular focus at election time.
Polling day is Sunday, October 19.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Johanna Alvin
