Isamaa had been in the previous three-party (or until July, four-party) coalition and is returning to office, albeit with changes in deputy mayoral positions, together with the Center Party, returning to office after a year-and-a-half in opposition. Under this arrangement, Isamaa has appointed a non-politico, economist Peeter Raudsepp, to be Tallinn mayor for two years, after which he will be replaced by a Center candidate for the remaining two years of the coalition's term.

"The coalition agreement as signed is surprising for its complete lack of ambition. Yes, social benefits are adjusted, which every new council composition has always done, but a broader leadership vision is missing," Ossinovski said.

The agreement was also notably pro-driver, at the expense of pedestrians and other road users, Ossinovski added.

"As expected, we see no references to modern city space in the new coalition agreement – a chapter of that kind does not even exist, as the priority is car infrastructure. No main street, safe school roads, new green areas or Vana-Kalamaja-style streets. Public transport users and pedestrians will have to make room for drivers in the coming years," he said.

The agreement is also completely lacking in vision when it comes to improving the city system, he said. This process started one-and-a-half years ago and has already delivered nearly €10 million of savings in fixed costs and a more professional institutional management up to today, the soon-to-be-ex-mayor said.

"In recent months, several next structure reform plans have been prepared, which would allow continuing to optimize the city system, save money, and improve service quality. These plans too will remain waiting for the next city government," Ossinovski went on.

"The economic development chapter symbolizes this idle gear well. The new mayor has said many words on this topic, how to accelerate the capital's economy. But looking at concrete measures, everything to be continued is either already in progress or already done, and the only new idea promised is launching an economic development commission that can talk with pathos about how bad the state is," Ossinovski continued.

Such a pattern of lack of ambition runs through the entire coalition agreement, he said, noting that in several areas important investments have either been dropped, or will just be maintained at their current level.

"For sure it is remarkable that the new coalition agreement has no deal for building a new hospital. On the contrary – if the state does not allocate money right now, they are ready to drop the already signed design contract. This means new uncertainty for our healthcare workers and hospitals, because if the perspective of a new hospital is pushed to the unknown, existing hospitals must be invested in for hundreds of millions of euros. And then the new hospital will never come," he said.

Ossinovski said that the last two city administrations have held to the principle that a care home place should be available for a Tallinn resident, with a co-payment equivalent to the average pension.

"This has meant additional money each year from the city budget so that the city's contribution keeps up with the rising service price. The new coalition agreement talks about the need for the private sector to create new places – which is of course needed too – but its real meaning is a rise in co-payments for our elderly," he said.

"Unfortunately, there is not a single syllable about this object in the coalition agreement. This too is to be expected, as by stepping away from the eurofunds meant for building Liivalaia and Puhangu streets, the city's capability to finance other objects has been reduced. Depending on decision details, the budget loss is €35 million to €50 million, so there is no money anywhere to take for Peterburi tee [reconstruction]," he added.

There are also eight points in the sports section of the agreement, most of which are empty talk, Ossinovski said.

"The Varraku street pool project, created through architectural competition and close cooperation with the swimming federation, will be crossed out… We will get a functionally and architecturally low-quality object that the city has zero control over and smells of corruption. On top of everything, the construction will be delayed again."

Ossinovski said there were some positives to be seen in the education section, such as continuing the city's class sizes to be kept within the legal limits, meaning no more than 24 students in a basic school class, and also the entry on teachers' wages.

"Within four years, 2,000 additional school places would be needed to ensure schooling near home and allow smaller classes … It's good to see that public pressure has worked and they promise to continue the €100 higher salary for Tallinn teachers, set by this city government," he added.

"I must concede that although my expectations for the new city government had been low from the outset, I would not have expected such an empty coalition agreement. The bar is set very low. The city will be in idle run for the coming years, which means that later the piled-up problems will be much harder to solve," Ossinovski concluded.

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