Meet the Rüütels

Well the word is out, all around the world. And somewhere in the frigid interior of Eestimaa two little girls named Helena and Maria are in big, big trouble.

The lurid details from Kommersant -

Estonian television has shown wild parties at Kadriorg, the presidential palace, hosted by the President Arnold Ruutel's granddaughters, Helena, 15, and Maria, 13. The disclosure was made on Eyewitness, one of Estonia's most popular prime-time television programs. An anonymous participant in the events recounted how guests smoked hashish, drink hard liquor and defile national symbols. The events had been going on regularly at least since last October and sometimes accommodated 50 guests.

Yeah, there's also pictures to accompany every thousand words about this not-so-stately affair, like this one.

And yes, there are also more lurid details, from Ely Times -

The photographs include one of a boy leaving a shower room, naked except for a belt with a piece of cloth hanging from it. The door to the room is held open by a clothed young woman.

"He was not completely naked," said presidential spokeswoman Kaidi Aher. "And it was a boy not a girl. That (a naked girl) would be completely different."

There's also some talk of how this could impact the next presidential election scheduled for this year. It's still unclear whether or not the 77-year-old Rüütel will seek another term, but what's sadder still is that this may not effect it.
That's because in Estonia, the people don't directly elect the president.

From Wikipedia -

The President elected by Parliament (Riigikogu) for a five-year term; if he or she does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes.

So it's a "back room" kind of thing. Contrast that with neighboring Finland where they had a real election that led to a run-off between Tarja Halonen and Sauli Niinistö.

They are having a real election over there and yet in Estonia, the tangibility of the presidential election, scheduled for this year, seems shrouded in internal politics. Will the naked parties at Kadriorg have any affect on who chooses the president in 2006?

As a side note I would like to add that when I was 15 I wasn't invited to any naked parties, and if I had been, they wouldn't have been at a presidential residence. So yes, I'm slightly jealous.