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Estonia 200

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Estonia 200
Eesti 200
AbbreviationE200
LeaderKristina Kallas
FounderKristina Kallas
Founded3 November 2018; 6 years ago (2018-11-03)
Split fromIsamaa
Social Democratic Party
Membership (2021)Decrease 774[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre
Colours
  •   Indigo
Slogan"Pikk plaan Eestile"
"A Long-term Plan for Estonia"
Riigikogu
13 / 101
Municipalities
40 / 1,717
European Parliament
0 / 7
Party flag
Flag of the Estonia 200
Website
eesti200.ee

Estonia 200 (Estonian: Eesti 200, E200) is a liberal[2] political party in Estonia.[3][4] Since April 2023, the party has been a junior partner in the third Kallas government.

History

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Formation and 2019 elections

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In 2017, the initiators of the movement began discussing Estonia's future. The movement's formal foundation arguably took place on 2 May 2018, when their manifesto was first published. According to a mid-June 2018 poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS, 15% of voters were ready to vote for the movement in the 2019 parliamentary elections.[citation needed]

On 30 May 2018, former Põlva County governor Igor Taro was appointed rural area coordinator of the movement.[5] On 7 June, the initiators announced that Henrik Raave would lead Eesti 200,[6] and the following day, the manifesto authors registered it as a nonprofit organisation. Its founders were Raave, Taro, as well as Priit Alamäe, Kristiina Tõnnisson, Indrek Nuume and Kristina Kallas, who was elected council head.[7] On 7 August, news broke that Margus Tsahkna, former leader of the Pro Patria party, was set to join Eesti 200.[8]

On 21 August 2018, the Estonia 200 movement decided to form a party later that fall and participate in the March 2019 parliamentary elections.[9] On 3 November, the day the movement became a party, Kristina Kallas was elected as its first chairperson.[10]

Despite initial optimism, in the 2019 parliamentary election the party managed to garner a mere 4.36% of the vote, falling short of the 5% threshold and therefore failing to get any seats in parliament.

In the 2019 European Parliament election, the party earned 3.66% of the vote, failing to secure any of the Estonian seats in the European parliament.

Rise in popularity and entering government

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In the 2021 municipal elections, the party garnered over 6% of the vote nationwide and significant representation in councils of major Estonian cities such as Tallinn, Tartu and Narva.

On 15 October 2022, Lauri Hussar defeated Kristina Kallas in the party's leadership election and became chair.[11]

In the 2023 parliamentary election, Estonia 200 received 13.3% of the vote and 14 seats in the Riigikogu. Following the election on 7 March, Prime Minister and Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas invited Estonia 200 and the Social Democratic Party for preliminary talks aimed at forming a new coalition government.[12] A coalition agreement between the three parties was reached by 7 April,[13] giving E200 three ministerial seats,[14] and was officially signed on 10 April.[15] On 17 April, the third Kallas government was formally sworn into office.[16]

Time in government

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During the European Parliament elections in 2024 the party suffered a crushing defeat gaining only 2.6% of the popular vote and zero seats.[17]

Subsequently, Margus Tsahkna announced he would be stepping down from party leadership. In August 2024, the party re-elected Kristina Kallas as party leader.[18]

In November 2024, Margus Tsahkna stated that the party should be "ready to join another party".[19]

Ideology and platform

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Estonia 200 describes itself as a liberal and progressive party,[20] and has been described as centrist[21][22][23] and adhering to both social[24] and economic liberalism.[25][26] It is pro-NATO and pro-European,[27] supports same-sex marriage, and considers internet access a human right.[28][29] The party supports community-based investments in renewable energy sources and creating a bond for green funding. It advocates the inclusion of mental health lessons in school curricula, as well as reserving 1% of local budgets for investment projects chosen by residents. Estonia 200 also calls for local government bodies to comprise a mixture of politicians, experts and representatives of interest groups. In addition, it intends to decrease public funding for all political parties.[30]

Election results

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Parliamentary elections

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Election Leader Votes % Seats +/− Government
2019 Kristina Kallas 24,447 4.4 (#6)
0 / 101
 New Extra-parliamentary
2023 Lauri Hussar 81,329 13.3 (#4)
14 / 101
 Increase 14 Coalition

European Parliament elections

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2019 Lauri Hussar 10,700 3.22 (#6)
0 / 7
 New −
2024 Margus Tsahkna 9,584 2.60 (#8)
0 / 7
 Steady 0

References

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  1. ^ "Äriregistri teabesüsteem" (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Estonia" (PDF). cise.luiss.it. 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. ^ Juzefovičs, Jānis; Vihalemm, Triin (August 2020). "Digital humor against essentialization: Strategies of Baltic Russian-speaking social media users". Political Geography. 81: 102204. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2020.102204. S2CID 219766669.
  4. ^ Ehin, Piret; Talving, Liisa (2019). "Estonia: A scene set by the preceding national election". In De Sio, Lorenzo; Russo, Luana; Franklin, Mark N. (eds.). The European Parliament Elections of 2019. Luiss University Press. p. 129. Eesti 200, a liberal newcomer, received 3.2% of the vote.
  5. ^ "Igor Taro asub vedama Eesti 200 tegevust maakondades" (in Estonian). Postimees. 30 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Eesti 200 tegevjuhiks saab Henrik Raave" (in Estonian). ERR. 7 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Eesti 200 algatajad asutasid MTÜ" (in Estonian). Postimees. 8 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Margus Tsahkna kinnitas, et liitub Eesti 200-ga" (in Estonian). ERR. 7 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Liikumine Eesti 200 loob partei ja läheb valimistele" (in Estonian). ERR. 21 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Eesti 200 moodustas partei. Erakonna esimeheks valiti Kristina Kallas". Delfi. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  11. ^ ERR (15 October 2022). "Eesti 200 valis esimeheks Lauri Hussari". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Kaja Kallas: Reform inviting Eesti 200, Social Democrats to coalition talks". 7 March 2023.
  13. ^ "SDE leader: Coalition agreement ready, includes tax changes". 7 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Coalition agreement: VAT, income tax to rise by 2 percentage points". 8 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Gallery: Reform, Eesti 200 and SDE sign coalition agreement". 10 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Riigikogu gives Kaja Kallas mandate to form new government". 12 April 2023.
  17. ^ "National results Estonia | 2024 Election results | 2024 European election results | European Parliament". results.election.europa.eu/.
  18. ^ ERR (31 August 2024). "Eesti 200 valis erakonnajuhiks Kristina Kallase". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  19. ^ ERR, Indrek Kiisler | (20 November 2024). "Tsahkna: Eesti 200 peab olema valmis ühinema ka mõne teise erakonnaga". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Beliefs". Eesti 200. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  21. ^ "The Global State of Democracy". International IDEA. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Estonia's Reform Party starts coalition government talks". AP News. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Estonia's centre-right Reform Party comes first in parliamentary election". Euronews. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Estonia". Euractive. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  25. ^ "Estonia 200 unveils its full election candidate list". ERR News. Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  26. ^ Sebald, Christoph; Matthews-Ferrero, Daniel; Papalamprou, Ery; Steenland, Robert (14 May 2019). "EU country briefing: Estonia". EURACTIV. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Beliefs". Eesti 200. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  28. ^ "Eesti 200 programm" (in Estonian).
  29. ^ "Estonia 200 programme". Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Eesti 200 plaan" (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
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