Analyst: The sacking of an official harming credibility of the parliament
Political scientist Ott Lumi said the dismissal of a Riigikogu official was highly unseemly and undermined the credibility of parliament. In his view, responsibility lies with politicians, not civil servants.
Signatures are set to be collected in the Riigikogu on Monday to reinstate an official dismissed over a legislative error in the gambling tax law. Eesti 200 does not support the move, arguing it would create a dangerous precedent in which politicians directly interfere in decisions of the Riigikogu Chancellery.
The dismissal of long-serving Riigikogu Chancellery official Piia Schultz over the legislative error in the gambling tax law, which she plans to challenge in court, has stirred debate in parliamentary corridors. On Monday, signatures will begin to be gathered to reinstate the official, as a number of MPs have requested this.
"Of course, the Chancellery makes the final decisions, but I would like to see whether members of parliament collectively understand that decisions are made by politicians. If politicians have made wrong decisions or a bill has not been properly drafted, then it is not the officials who are to blame, but those who originally put the bill together," said Aivar Kokk, a member of the Isamaa parliamentary group.
Kokk said it is clear that a scapegoat needed to be found, though he does not know whether any political pressure was involved.
Attention in the case has focused primarily on Eesti 200 politicians, including Tanel Tein, who initiated the amendment to the gambling tax law, and Riigikogu Speaker Lauri Hussar, who has refrained from commenting.
Toomas Uibo, head of the Eesti 200 parliamentary group, said the party has not interfered in personnel decisions of the Riigikogu Chancellery and believes politicians should continue to stay out of the process. For this reason, Uibo does not support collecting signatures or convening the Riigikogu Board of Elders.
"This has been entirely apolitical so far and it would create a completely new precedent if politicians begin interfering in decisions concerning officials. So in that sense, I do not support it," Uibo said.
The gambling tax bill passed across the desks of all Riigikogu politicians and according to political scientist Ott Lumi, they should therefore bear responsibility. The dismissal of the official was highly unseemly and has undermined the credibility of the Riigikogu, particularly in lawmaking.
"From a political science perspective, this is another drop in the bucket where executive power tends to dominate political processes and shows to some extent that the Riigikogu as such is relatively weak. I think this is also partly a question of limited resources," Lumi said.
The disciplinary proceedings that led to the dismissal were initiated following comments the official made to the media.
Külli Taro, head of the council dealing with civil service ethics, said in a written response that the council will not issue a position on the case, as no party has requested one. However, the council has discussed the possible clarification or supplementation of guidelines on officials' freedom of expression and concluded that the issue lies more in their application. According to Taro, the discussion is still ongoing.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Aleksander Krjukov
