Mihkel Undrest is the chairman of the board of the Saaremaa region of the Estonian Central Party. I think everyone on the island knows him. And he is the very man who managed to raise the Center Party to more respect there.
Your path in the Central Party was not exactly smooth…
I joined the party in August 2007, when I was also elected the deputy chairman of the Saaremaa region. But when Kalle Laanet, head of the Saaremaa Central Party, received a vote of no confidence from Edgar Savisaare and left the party in May 2012, the majority of the board considered it right to leave the party. We left because the party’s leadership at the time couldn’t find time to explain the matter to us on the spot. Even then, there was a situation where there were disagreements in the leadership of the Central Party, and they wanted to change the leader. At that time, Edgar Savisaar was stronger.
In 2017, when it was not possible to put together the list of the Center Party for the local elections in Saaremaa and the Center Party was practically wiped off the map of Saaremaa, I came back at the request of Jüri Ratas, we made a list together with Aivar Aru, we applied and got into the Saaremaa municipal council and also a coalition.
Why did you join the Center Party both times?
When I first joined the party, the question was about the leader. Edgar Savisaar was very sympathetic to me as a leader, and the policy pursued by the Center Party was also close to my heart. It seemed to me that this is a party I would like to belong to.
In 2017, you were elected as the head of the Saaremaa region of the Center Party, and you said then that the goal is to bring new members and motivate existing members in Saaremaa. Did you manage?
We certainly did. During this time, more than 60 people joined the organization in the region, including old players. In the last local elections, we got even more votes and one more seat in the council. Of course, the fact that we have many acquaintances and friends also played a role – after all, I’ve lived in Saaremaa all my life, I know everyone, many wanted to join in, and I certainly didn’t do it alone. Still all together.
What else is needed for a regional organization to be successful? Do you have a recipe?
There is one recipe. People need to be noticed and people around us need to trust and believe in us. It only pays to deceive them once and trust is lost. It is practically impossible to win it back. No one should be betrayed, it is necessary to fight for each person without making choices. Betrayal is the worst.
After the recent congress of the Estonian Center Party, have you also left?
I found out that one person left on September 21. It was, I think, more of a worldview departure. If we talk about those who left at all, I think that the party will win from some of those who left, others we will miss, but they have the right to choose their own path. I wish them success on this journey. But for some reason those who left have left at a time when the party needs their help, so the stated reasons are not quite believable. People who leave the party at such a time… I have no right to condemn anyone, but I certainly do not approve of it. Those who have always, at all costs, held on to their place in a high position and, fearing to lose it, will probably leave anyway, believing that it is better there. Those who are strongly connected to the party, who have worked hard and to whom this party is dear, should not leave.
What changes do you expect in the region and in the Central Party as a whole, now that the party has a new chairman, a new board, to which, by the way, you also belong?
Each region is the face of its regional manager, I do not plan to change my face and do not see the need to change anything in the region. If something needs to be changed, we will discuss it with the people of Saaremaa and do it as is best for all of us. In the party, I expect what the chairman of the Central Party promised: more transparency, honesty, more standing up for our members and voters, fulfilling our election promises – even if they are fewer, they must be fulfilled. I see that the new chairman of the party can. As a member of the board, I follow everything I mentioned above.
How would you characterize the Center Party in Estonia’s political landscape?
This party is very much needed in the political landscape of Estonia. The Center Party has always united nations regardless of what nationality someone is, has united people in terms of views. And now we should not be like enemies in the Center Party. We should cooperate more with each other and become as strong and even stronger than we have been. Long live the Central Party!
KN
