TALLINN — Despite the Bronze Soldier riots, cyberattack, financial crisis and the fly by night tendency of Baltic politics, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip’s center-right government has been standing for five years in a row.

Ansip celebrated his fifth anniversary of his tenure Tuesday, something relatively few European prime ministers can boast. Only one post-independence Baltic state prime minister, Lithuania’s Algirdas Brazauskas, has come close to serving five years straight.

Ansip’s government assumed power on [private_supervisor]April 13, 2005 when he took over former Prime Minister Juhan Parts’ Cabinet after its resignation. His second cabinet came to force in April 5, 2007 when the Reform Party scored an unprecedented victory at the ballot box, taking 27.8 percent of the votes, beating even the Center Party, who got only 26.1 percent of the votes.

In 2006, the Reform Party’s electoral promise was to make Estonia one of the Europe’s top five richest countries within 15 years. Little over two years later, though, the credit crisis turned Estonia’s once-booming economy into one of the worst-performing in the world.

However, the popularity of Ansip’s government has not washed away like that sandcastle of an economic boom. A poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS in February showed Reform Party’s support increasing and the Center Party’s support declining. That makes Estonia the only Baltic state where the current government remains popular.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Center Party leader and Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar admitted Tuesday that having one prime minister in Estonia for five years is remarkable and a stable government has its advantages. Although Savisaar questioned if Estonia can manage another five years with Ansip in charge, he recognized that maybe Estonia, which has little tradition of democracy, is becoming a stable democratic society.

“If the prime ministers are changing in every two years or even more often, then one man cannot even start before another one comes and everything starts all over again,” Savisaar said at a press conference.

Savisaar was the first prime minister after Estonia was declared independent in 1991. However, he had to resign in Jan. 29. 1992 due problems in his Cabinet and economic turmoil.

While his poll numbers remain high, Ansip’s reign has been divisive. The Bronze Soldier exacerbated latent ethnic tension in Estonia, causing riots and provoking a cyberattack on government websites from Russia. The path to eurozone entry in 2011 has been blazed with austerity measures to stay within the Maastricht criteria despite the crisis.

Ansip’s work was lauded by Ivari Padar, former finance minister and current representative in the European Parliament. Padar told daily newspaper Postimees that Ansip’s five years in the government is an achievement considering that the tumultuous times.

“At the end of the day it can be seen that Estonia managed to act stable during the hard times,” said Padar. “As an ambassador at the European Parliament it can be assessed especially well, in comparision to other European Union member states.”

Five more?

Can Ansip’s cabinet rule for another five years? Political scientist Anu Toots said it shouldn’t be excluded.

“There has not been a strong opposition in the parliament who could overthrow the government,” Toots told Postimees Monday. “It is also not common in Estonia that a minister or a prime minister would step down on his own initiative.” [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]April 13, 2005 when he took over former Prime Minister Juhan Parts’ Cabinet after its resignation. His second cabinet came to force in April 5, 2007 when the Reform Party scored an unprecedented victory at the ballot box, taking 27.8 percent of the votes, beating even the Center Party, who got only 26.1 percent of the votes.

In 2006, the Reform Party’s electoral promise was to make Estonia one of the Europe’s top five richest countries within 15 years. Little over two years later, though, the credit crisis turned Estonia’s once-booming economy into one of the worst-performing in the world.

However, the popularity of Ansip’s government has not washed away like that sandcastle of an economic boom. A poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS in February showed Reform Party’s support increasing and the Center Party’s support declining. That makes Estonia the only Baltic state where the current government remains popular.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Center Party leader and Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar admitted Tuesday that having one prime minister in Estonia for five years is remarkable and a stable government has its advantages. Although Savisaar questioned if Estonia can manage another five years with Ansip in charge, he recognized that maybe Estonia, which has little tradition of democracy, is becoming a stable democratic society.

“If the prime ministers are changing in every two years or even more often, then one man cannot even start before another one comes and everything starts all over again,” Savisaar said at a press conference.

Savisaar was the first prime minister after Estonia was declared independent in 1991. However, he had to resign in Jan. 29. 1992 due problems in his Cabinet and economic turmoil.

While his poll numbers remain high, Ansip’s reign has been divisive. The Bronze Soldier exacerbated latent ethnic tension in Estonia, causing riots and provoking a cyberattack on government websites from Russia. The path to eurozone entry in 2011 has been blazed with austerity measures to stay within the Maastricht criteria despite the crisis.

Ansip’s work was lauded by Ivari Padar, former finance minister and current representative in the European Parliament. Padar told daily newspaper Postimees that Ansip’s five years in the government is an achievement considering that the tumultuous times.

“At the end of the day it can be seen that Estonia managed to act stable during the hard times,” said Padar. “As an ambassador at the European Parliament it can be assessed especially well, in comparision to other European Union member states.”

Five more?

Can Ansip’s cabinet rule for another five years? Political scientist Anu Toots said it shouldn’t be excluded.

“There has not been a strong opposition in the parliament who could overthrow the government,” Toots told Postimees Monday. “It is also not common in Estonia that a minister or a prime minister would step down on his own initiative.” [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]April 13, 2005 when he took over former Prime Minister Juhan Parts’ Cabinet after its resignation. His second cabinet came to force in April 5, 2007 when the Reform Party scored an unprecedented victory at the ballot box, taking 27.8 percent of the votes, beating even the Center Party, who got only 26.1 percent of the votes.

In 2006, the Reform Party’s electoral promise was to make Estonia one of the Europe’s top five richest countries within 15 years. Little over two years later, though, the credit crisis turned Estonia’s once-booming economy into one of the worst-performing in the world.

However, the popularity of Ansip’s government has not washed away like that sandcastle of an economic boom. A poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS in February showed Reform Party’s support increasing and the Center Party’s support declining. That makes Estonia the only Baltic state where the current government remains popular.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Center Party leader and Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar admitted Tuesday that having one prime minister in Estonia for five years is remarkable and a stable government has its advantages. Although Savisaar questioned if Estonia can manage another five years with Ansip in charge, he recognized that maybe Estonia, which has little tradition of democracy, is becoming a stable democratic society.

“If the prime ministers are changing in every two years or even more often, then one man cannot even start before another one comes and everything starts all over again,” Savisaar said at a press conference.

Savisaar was the first prime minister after Estonia was declared independent in 1991. However, he had to resign in Jan. 29. 1992 due problems in his Cabinet and economic turmoil.

While his poll numbers remain high, Ansip’s reign has been divisive. The Bronze Soldier exacerbated latent ethnic tension in Estonia, causing riots and provoking a cyberattack on government websites from Russia. The path to eurozone entry in 2011 has been blazed with austerity measures to stay within the Maastricht criteria despite the crisis.

Ansip’s work was lauded by Ivari Padar, former finance minister and current representative in the European Parliament. Padar told daily newspaper Postimees that Ansip’s five years in the government is an achievement considering that the tumultuous times.

“At the end of the day it can be seen that Estonia managed to act stable during the hard times,” said Padar. “As an ambassador at the European Parliament it can be assessed especially well, in comparision to other European Union member states.”

Five more?

Can Ansip’s cabinet rule for another five years? Political scientist Anu Toots said it shouldn’t be excluded.

“There has not been a strong opposition in the parliament who could overthrow the government,” Toots told Postimees Monday. “It is also not common in Estonia that a minister or a prime minister would step down on his own initiative.” [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]April 13, 2005 when he took over former Prime Minister Juhan Parts’ Cabinet after its resignation. His second cabinet came to force in April 5, 2007 when the Reform Party scored an unprecedented victory at the ballot box, taking 27.8 percent of the votes, beating even the Center Party, who got only 26.1 percent of the votes.

In 2006, the Reform Party’s electoral promise was to make Estonia one of the Europe’s top five richest countries within 15 years. Little over two years later, though, the credit crisis turned Estonia’s once-booming economy into one of the worst-performing in the world.

However, the popularity of Ansip’s government has not washed away like that sandcastle of an economic boom. A poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS in February showed Reform Party’s support increasing and the Center Party’s support declining. That makes Estonia the only Baltic state where the current government remains popular.

Political analyst Toomas Alatalu said the uptick in support for the ruling coalition parties might be affected by the good news on Estonia’s potential switch to euro in 2011. He said Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip started talking about it at just the right time for voters, giving a ray of hope to people struggling with the capsized economy.

“It must be admitted that Ansip is a good prime minister during the time of crisis. The politics of his government may make some social groups angry, but the prime minister’s tranquility and self-confidence compensates for that with positive news,” Alatalu told Baltic Reports.

Center Party leader and Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar admitted Tuesday that having one prime minister in Estonia for five years is remarkable and a stable government has its advantages. Although Savisaar questioned if Estonia can manage another five years with Ansip in charge, he recognized that maybe Estonia, which has little tradition of democracy, is becoming a stable democratic society.

“If the prime ministers are changing in every two years or even more often, then one man cannot even start before another one comes and everything starts all over again,” Savisaar said at a press conference.

Savisaar was the first prime minister after Estonia was declared independent in 1991. However, he had to resign in Jan. 29. 1992 due problems in his Cabinet and economic turmoil.

While his poll numbers remain high, Ansip’s reign has been divisive. The Bronze Soldier exacerbated latent ethnic tension in Estonia, causing riots and provoking a cyberattack on government websites from Russia. The path to eurozone entry in 2011 has been blazed with austerity measures to stay within the Maastricht criteria despite the crisis.

Ansip’s work was lauded by Ivari Padar, former finance minister and current representative in the European Parliament. Padar told daily newspaper Postimees that Ansip’s five years in the government is an achievement considering that the tumultuous times.

“At the end of the day it can be seen that Estonia managed to act stable during the hard times,” said Padar. “As an ambassador at the European Parliament it can be assessed especially well, in comparision to other European Union member states.”

Five more?

Can Ansip’s cabinet rule for another five years? Political scientist Anu Toots said it shouldn’t be excluded.

“There has not been a strong opposition in the parliament who could overthrow the government,” Toots told Postimees Monday. “It is also not common in Estonia that a minister or a prime minister would step down on his own initiative.” [/private_subscription 1 year]

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