At the start of next year, Eesti 200 plans to unveil a manifesto that will define the party's core identity and the value conflict it intends to highlight, Eesti Ekspress reported.

"I find it very likely that we may not be in the next Riigikogu," party board member Ando Kiviberg told the newspaper.

"I find it very, very likely that Eesti 200 will be in the next Riigikogu," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna countered in the same article.

"We are an important liberal party and without us, Estonia will turn into Hungary — that's the message Eesti 200 wants to drill into voters' heads next year," the paper said, describing the party's emerging strategy.

"The board was in agreement that the Republic of Estonia needs a liberal party like this," Irja Lutsar said, relaying the contents of the party board's December 16 meeting.

According to the paper, board members reaffirmed to one another during the meeting that Estonia is facing a clash between conservatism and liberalism, past and future, dark and light forces and that they are fighting on the side of good.

Party figures acknowledged that the Eesti 200 brand has taken a beating since its strong showing in the 2022 elections. Most people, they admitted, don't even know what the party's name means. As a result, the board is considering adding the word "liberal" to the party's name.

Several board members told Eesti Ekspress that the party's leadership election, currently scheduled for June, should be moved up to the spring. Party chair Kristina Kallas, however, told the paper this was the first she had heard of such a plan.

In the recent local elections, Eesti 200 — a junior partner in the governing coalition with the Reform Party — managed to field candidate lists in only 10 municipalities. The result: 9,824 votes nationwide, or 1.7 percent support, and just three seats on the Tartu city council. The party did not enter power anywhere.

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