"I wouldn't take it. I have a personal reason. Unfortunately, the current societal model and this whole PEP status (politically exposed person – ed.) mean that all my acquaintances would suffer too much. It's not just that I would appear suspicious to the entire public, but so would everyone I know. And not just to the public, but also to the authorities," Urmas Sõõrumaa said Wednesday on Raadio 2.

On Tuesday, the Center Party and Isamaa agreed to begin coalition talks in Tallinn. Under the arrangement, for the first two years the mayor would be an Isamaa candidate with no prior political background but extensive leadership experience; for the following two years, the Center Party would appoint the mayor. Isamaa has not yet revealed the name of its candidate.

Sõõrumaa said he would welcome a nonpartisan mayor with leadership skills and a background in business.

"It would be great if a capable man came in from outside. Then maybe what I hoped for in the spring would start to come true — a little less political squabbling in running the city."

Reflecting on the summer crisis in Tallinn city government, Sõõrumaa said the Reform Party made a mistake by quitting the four-way coalition.

"The fact that the Reform Party ultimately stepped down was a bit of a wrong move. It left the party with only a tiny sliver of a window to join a city government led by the Social Democrats and return to the exact same position with virtually no leverage. That was a mistake."

At the same time, Sõõrumaa was also critical of Jevgeni Ossinovski's leadership abilities.

"He's an educated, intelligent and broad-minded person. But unfortunately, he doesn't know how to lead. He can mobilize himself for a short time to put together the next team, but to lead effectively and over the long term... Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses."

According to Sõõrumaa, it was clear to him three or four weeks ago that the Center Party would win in Tallinn and most logically form a coalition with Isamaa.

He said forming a new four-party coalition would have been very difficult, given the number of influential individuals involved, many of whom were either at odds with one another or facing significant internal disagreements within their own parties over the idea.

"And just look at what started happening immediately after the elections. Nobody really cares about the well-being of the city of Tallinn. Everyone cares about how to perform well in the 2027 Riigikogu elections. Everything will now be done with that in mind," Sõõrumaa said.

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