The Estonian-Latvian border runs through the town of Valga/Valka and in recent years the region has operated under the slogan "one city, two states."

At October's local election, power changed hands in Valga Municipality and new mayor Mart Kase (SDE) has recently taken up the position.

Kase told Saturday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" the twin towns should make more use of their unique location, shared opportunities, and the railway connection.

"There's no other way — we have to attract more residents so that entrepreneurship can grow. That's how the money will come. Or we'll have to cut back somewhere and act more efficiently. But this 'there is no money' mindset gets stuck in people's heads if it's repeated all the time. Then people start to feel small and guilty. But we are not that. We are proud of Valga, and we'll do everything we can to get this town developing again, so that people can feel confident and dignified living here," said Kase.

The new mayor has a background in psychology, drama, marketing, school leadership, and farming. As a local government leader, experience in all of these areas is likely to be useful.

The coalition of the Social Democrats, electoral alliance Valga Eest ja Heaks, and the Center Party hopes to boost residents' confidence in themselves and in their hometown.

"We're not saying this is a plan, this is a dream to work toward. Should we use project funding to renovate old kindergarten buildings, or build one new, large kindergarten instead of three? But we see that, for example, in Otepää or Võru, this process has taken years. At the same time, children's education is important, and part of education is the environment in which they spend their time," Kase said.

In Valga, Reform and Isamaa continued in opposition. Experienced politician and Reform Party member Margus Lepik believes the new leadership could show more clarity.

"The coalition does not have an overwhelming majority in the council. Hopefully, this will give the coalition many reasons to cooperate with the opposition and seek support for its actions also from across the aisle," Lepik told "Aktuaalne kaamera".

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!