tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post3992923180537339352..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: the hardest working man in show businessGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-62385222674815095642009-11-01T22:39:38.015+02:002009-11-01T22:39:38.015+02:00The real question in my view is why can't sots...The real question in my view is why can't <i>sotsid</i> whip up any sort of serious popular support for themselves when conditions seem perfect for the rise of an honest-looking leftist party.Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-31031000346106729472009-11-01T21:53:27.098+02:002009-11-01T21:53:27.098+02:00If the Sotsid join in a coalition they will be doi...<i>If the Sotsid join in a coalition they will be doing themselves a great disservice, as even they have publicly said that in any coalition with Kesk in Tallinn their voice would not be heard and they would quickly be shut up.</i><br /><br />The problem is that Ansip fired them back in May. Now they have nowhere else to go, other than just wait around for some successor of Ansip to take them back. That was his mistake.<br /><br />One issue is that I just can't see Savisaar fulfilling the duties of a PM. As far as I know, his only "foreign" language is Russian. I have a feeling he would wind up leaning heavily on his foreign minister.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-42944494650978978792009-11-01T13:38:12.925+02:002009-11-01T13:38:12.925+02:00The whole of Keskerakond party politics are quite ...The whole of Keskerakond party politics are quite populist and disgusting. Ratas is the only one out of a huge pile of demagogues, ridiculous singers, sports people and comedians (should they really be in Riigikogu?). And attack-dogs such as Kadri Simson. I would also like to see a new and modern left in Estonia, but Kesk are not it. They are pedalling fast back to soviet times, and if they gain national power, we would be back to being something less than Belorussia or Kaliningrad. (Savisaar was effectively a soviet PM of Estonia in the 80's). <br />If the Sotsid join in a coalition they will be doing themselves a great disservice, as even they have publicly said that in any coalition with Kesk in Tallinn their voice would not be heard and they would quickly be shut up.<br />Fortunately, parliament votes are not dominated by non-citizens and there is less risk of the same happening at the state level. Russian politicians in Russia even advice Russians in Estonia not to vote for Russian parties but for Savisaar since then they gain disproportional influence:<br />http://www.eesti.ca/?op=article&articleid=25774<br />I can't vote since I've only lived here for 3.5 years, but if I could it would certainly not be the state party Kesk. I think a Nordic or Scandinavian model would be fine, but that is not what the Kesk espouse, they are for old-time populism and cronyism. Estonia needs to be modern and innovative, not flat on ideas. If the opposition would have had a united candidate things would have been different in the Tallinn vote. <br />Things in Tartu and fortunately a bit better.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10218023456805774255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-73247821087684052332009-10-31T14:15:08.410+02:002009-10-31T14:15:08.410+02:0012 is all I had, Sir. They're good points too!...12 is all I had, Sir. They're good points too! None of your cheap Chinese rubbish -- these are fine Italian points, hand-crafted from cheese and leather. :-PMysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-12730875057878654592009-10-31T10:00:42.259+02:002009-10-31T10:00:42.259+02:00Tänan teile, Mr. Myst, although...
12 points out o...Tänan teile, Mr. Myst, although...<br />12 points out of how many? :)Philippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05928878239631815138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-50851885635161660092009-10-30T17:38:38.565+02:002009-10-30T17:38:38.565+02:00Why, I'd go even as far as to say 12 points to...Why, I'd go even as far as to say 12 points <b>to</b> Mr. Pipe. :-)Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-54673433593477517792009-10-30T17:35:04.980+02:002009-10-30T17:35:04.980+02:0012 points for Mr. Pipe.12 points for Mr. Pipe.Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-33231327060746454292009-10-30T16:33:28.980+02:002009-10-30T16:33:28.980+02:00Giustino: I was glued to the TV for the lenght of ...Giustino: I was glued to the TV for the lenght of the interview, even though I was risking being late for work. I watched with a mix of envy (at both you speaking Estonian so well as to write a book and having your guitar here --I miss mine dearly--) and hope (that it is not impossible to achieve both). My very sincere congratulations! You are some sort of hero...<br />As to Estonian politics, although I cannot understand much of what I read or hear, I cannot help but see some uncanny resemblance between the Keskerarond and the Peronists back home: no defined ideology, having both the allegiance of "the poor/outcast" and big business (suspicion of corruption), transgressor, populist, and (very important) centered in its leader and vertically disciplined. Peron in 1945-47 capitalized on the low class resentment against the ruling elite, fagocited the labor movement with carrot and stick (which included betraying Cipriano Reyes, who was imprisioned until 1955) and was supported by the crony capitalism of industrialists (some fleeing Germany and Italy). He then went on to wreck the country in a populist frenzy, where the outcasts received toys and government housing, and cronies were awarded fat contracts. And then his opponents did him the biggest favour in history when they organized a coup when his power was waning, making him a martyr. Generations of Argentines still vote for peronists because grandma received her first doll from Evita, or because greatgrandpa lost his job when Peron fell.<br />There are many parallels with Edgarikene (change toys with küttepuud and you get the idea). I just hope Estonians don't make the same mistakes Argentines did in the late 40s. My advice to SDE and Rahvaliit, in a vertically integrated party there is no place for two leaders; you risk being fagocited. My advice to RK and IRL: (i) don't ignore the outcasts, because even if they cannot vote now, their children will and they won't vote you; (ii) don't give KE excuses to behave improperly by not behaving improperly, (iii) don't think that because Estonia is so far in the road to development that a populist government cannot wreck it, it can (see Peron, Chavez and countless others), (iv) you need to find better PR (or at least matching to KE's) and represent some ideal worth fighting for in the mind of the common person ("euro accession" does not sound so nice as "Yes we can", if you know what I mean). In that sense, I think Giustino is right on the money.<br />Ok, too much anti-peronist rant for one day... Saludos!Philippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05928878239631815138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-78627740085521352232009-10-30T16:32:03.446+02:002009-10-30T16:32:03.446+02:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.Philippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05928878239631815138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-88615967293344496702009-10-28T16:33:06.945+02:002009-10-28T16:33:06.945+02:00Were Savisaar to leave the scene for whatever reas...Were Savisaar to leave the scene for whatever reason, surely Keskerakond would go on. I'm guessing with either Jüri Ratas or Kadri Simson as leader.<br /><br />Ratas is one of the two leading <i>kesikud</i> I have any respect for (the other being Toomas Varek). Young guy, bright, has a conscience. http://www.ratas.ee/ Simson is probably best described simply as unpleasant.. http://kadrisimson.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Of course without Savisaar, they wouldn't have half the appeal! Or maybe they would have half. If you see what I mean... And <i>sotsid</i> would probably be the biggest beneficiaries from this.Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-54734300766503264632009-10-28T13:44:23.322+02:002009-10-28T13:44:23.322+02:00I didn't know Savisaar's health was so bad...I didn't know Savisaar's health was so bad. It makes me feel curious: were he to drop from the scene, what would happen to KE's chances of keeping its <i>sex appeal</i> for its target public? Is there anyone who would jump into Edgar's shoes and continue his work? Or would everybody sigh and vote Reformierakond instead?Lingüistahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06327147408198046253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-74646545442072832802009-10-28T10:16:58.988+02:002009-10-28T10:16:58.988+02:00One item worth considering is that non-citizens ar...<i>One item worth considering is that non-citizens are not eligible to vote in parliamentary elections, but are eligible in city elections. I bet most non-citizens are the Russian-speaking minority that makes up a big part of Kesk's base, which can explain why they often don't perform as well when it comes to national elections.</i><br /><br />It's not just non-citizens, it's all permanent residents, regardless of citizenship. <br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.tallinn.ee/est/g2677s45500" rel="nofollow">this document</a>, 76 percent of Tallinn residents are Estonian citizens, 12 percent have undetermined citizenship, and 8 percent are Russian citizens.<br /><br />In this way, even if all those stateless voters could vote for parliament, it still wouldn't be equal to the outcome of the municipal vote, which includes the votes of citizens of other countries (Americans, too).Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-23682448214836443102009-10-28T01:12:45.022+02:002009-10-28T01:12:45.022+02:00I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance.
...<i>I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance.</i><br /><br />Agreed, and I also agree it's going to come down to the state of the economy. <br /><br />I think some portion of Kesk's big win last week was not so much people voting pro-Kesk, but against everybody else. I realize Kesk already had power in Tallinn, but I think it was a vote against the national government in general.<br /><br />One item worth considering is that non-citizens are not eligible to vote in parliamentary elections, but are eligible in city elections. I bet most non-citizens are the Russian-speaking minority that makes up a big part of Kesk's base, which can explain why they often don't perform as well when it comes to national elections.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16666812202305896656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-15242445715502663302009-10-27T12:59:53.240+02:002009-10-27T12:59:53.240+02:00I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance. ...<i>I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance. </i><br /><br />If his health endures. That's a very big 'if'. One of the doctors who treated Mr. Savisaar for a dizzy spell this year also treated Ariel Sharon in the month before the final stroke which felled him and said it is difficult for him to say, which man has the worse arterial plaques. Savisaar refuses to have a second bypass or make corrections in his lifestyle -- both the Russian and Western physicians are in total agreement that this is essential, it is rare, such agreement -- and he also suffers from pulmonary and cerebral hypertension. I believe both the expression "grave but stable condition" and "moribund" were used in his medical protocol, which has been kept from the public.Bäckmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421369538698912442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-63820324333798911762009-10-27T03:51:19.214+02:002009-10-27T03:51:19.214+02:00Worth noting ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R...Worth noting ...<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj4crMCg-XYLPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-4437637111694971472009-10-26T17:49:37.311+02:002009-10-26T17:49:37.311+02:00for a reason
The reason probably being that they...<i>for a reason</i><br /><br /><br />The reason probably being that they usually neglect to share information about their sample size and the consequent margin for error. Say, 1000 people and margin for error of 5% (or whatever it actually is for such a sample size).<br /><br />Or maybe it's the news media's fault. "Reform at 25% (+/- 5%), Kesk at 24% (+/- 5%)" doesn't have the same ring to it "Reform now more popular than Kesk", does it. :-)Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-58495256170188793672009-10-26T17:22:39.398+02:002009-10-26T17:22:39.398+02:00"According to a survey" being the releva..."According to a survey" being the relevant phrase.. :-) Saar-Poll is nicknamed Saar-Loll for a reason. :-) Although this one was done by Emor, I think.Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-33613432954232249102009-10-26T17:15:27.427+02:002009-10-26T17:15:27.427+02:00As an interesting turn Keskerakond's support i...As an interesting turn Keskerakond's support if the parliament elections would be held tomorrow, dropped in October and Reformierakond took the lead, according to a survey. Strange as Kesk won the election.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-5872892779637508332009-10-26T17:13:58.781+02:002009-10-26T17:13:58.781+02:00What? You will not name your daughter Epp? Or Ae...What? You will not name your daughter Epp? Or Aet, or Anu?<br /><br />How about Eve?<br /><br />I once knew a girl named õnnela. <br /><br />Now about Krõõt? That should rhyme in love songs with something...<br /><br />(I bet Martasmimi is shouting "Hell no" right now :-))LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-72944305810461692482009-10-26T16:29:45.459+02:002009-10-26T16:29:45.459+02:00I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance. ...I think 2011 is surely Savisaar's big chance. The one he's been waiting for for close to 20 years..<br /><br />A lot will depend, of course, on what happens to the economy in 2010, and whether we qualify for the Euro or not. (That will also pretty much determine Ansip's place in history, in my opinion -- either as "a total failure" or.. "alright" :-))<br /><br />Let's also keep in mind that the previous salary based unemployment benefits of most of the victims of this recession will run out in the next 6 months, after which they'll be forced to survive on... what is it? 1000 EEK per month? Which is impossible. So by the time of the next <i>Riigikogu</i> elections, we might have a social catastrophe on our hands. Unless the economy recovers really quite rapidly!<br /><br />But maybe it's not so bad. I've voted for right wing parties (Reform, Res Publica, IRL) all my life, but I wouldn't mind a turn to the left now. We need to consolidate, I think, grow in solidarity, refocus on developing our "human capital", Finland-style. <br /><br />I had always hoped that when this time came, <i>sotsid</i> would be the ones taking over. But since they're useless, I guess it'll have to be the Rhino.. <br /><br />Oh well. He's talked a lot about the Finnish model over the years. And he's done a lot to implement the Belorussian model.. Here's hoping Taara helps him see the light when the time comes!Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-19564219318908266552009-10-26T14:55:10.326+02:002009-10-26T14:55:10.326+02:00eh... I really don't see what the humongous de...eh... I really don't see what the humongous deal is. Kesikud always win and almost always fall flat on their faces in Parliament elections as well. And every time there's the talk about the current coalition breaking down because (as usual) Savip2ts has gotten all the votes in Tallinn.Dorishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12942338677951019959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-50821166029818188342009-10-26T12:20:09.281+02:002009-10-26T12:20:09.281+02:00Irja ja Inno Tähismaa astusid Keskerakonda
11. aug...Irja ja Inno Tähismaa astusid Keskerakonda<br />11. august 2009 08:26 <br />http://publik.delfi.ee/news/inimesed/article.php?id=25045641<br /><br />So they're little eager propagandawriters.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-77602636818823580442009-10-26T10:40:22.018+02:002009-10-26T10:40:22.018+02:00I think they're not in Keskerakond yet, but ce...I think they're not in Keskerakond yet, but certainly employed by them, it seems. Since the filth cannon is always aimed at KE's major rivals, never at KE.<br /><br />"Political analyst Inno Tähismaa"? :-))Mysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111657302405172980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-65697749589542973512009-10-25T19:02:35.259+02:002009-10-25T19:02:35.259+02:00Aren't the Tähismaas in Keskerakond too?Aren't the Tähismaas in Keskerakond too?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-62006614626942588852009-10-25T18:33:30.472+02:002009-10-25T18:33:30.472+02:00By the way, political analyst Inno Tähismaa has a ...By the way, political analyst Inno Tähismaa has <a href="http://innojairja.blogspot.com/2009/10/rahvarinne-tuleb-uuesti-kokku.html" rel="nofollow">a piece</a> on the return of the Popular Front (Rahvarinne). Great minds think alike!Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.com