Good fellow party members!
Yesterday, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, a member of the Riigikogu and elected by you to the board, announced her departure from the party. I had spoken to Maria many times and confirmed that regardless of the congressional campaign or the outcome, we all need to work together and work hard. We are all equal and we owe the good performance of the party to our party members, voters and supporters.
It is unfortunate that at the first difficulties there are those who leave, leaving the party and its members in an increasingly difficult situation. This is not how the team behaves. Maria, like the others who left, became the representative of the mandate for the positions and voters of the Center Party. An increase in sales tax, the abolition of car tax and free public transport, a tax reform favoring the wealthiest, worsening the confidence of families and cheating voters’ trust have not been and are not part of the principles of the Center Party. This has been expressed by Maria herself in the past, but today the words and actions contradict each other. The Reform Party received support for its policy today, as did Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. However, the voters were deceived.
Politics is dynamic. The party, which has fought on the edge of the election threshold in the last elections, is the first today. The support of the Reform Party, which powerfully won the elections, has fallen today, the support numbers of the prime minister who got a record result have shrunk, and confidence in the work of the prime minister has disappeared. These are changes that have happened in a short time. The situation for the Center Party is also changing, and a decline is followed by a rise. But this is only if we ourselves give it a chance. I am ready to work for it every day. I thank all party colleagues who do the same for Estonia’s oldest and largest political party.
And more. I do not trade party principles or buy loyalty with empty promises, positions or places on the electoral roll. Especially when it comes to people for whom personal interests are a priority in politics. At the same time, the party must always be ready to support its members in difficult situations. We must protect and help our people. But more importantly, we must always stand up for the interests of our constituents.
with respect
Mihail Kõlvart
Chairman of the Estonian Center Party
