The Estonian Centre Party (, EK) is a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

political party in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the

Popular Front of Estonia The Popular Front of Estonia (; RR), introduced to the public by the Estonian politician Edgar Savisaar under the short-lived name Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika, was a political organisation in Estonia in the late 1980s and earl ...

, and it is currently led by

Mihhail Kõlvart Mihhail Kõlvart (born 24 November 1977) is an Estonian politician currently serving as the Estonian Centre Party, leader of the Centre Party since 2023. He served as the mayor of Tallinn, Estonia, a position he has held since April 2019, after th ...

The party was founded on 12 October 1991 from the basis of the

after several parties split from it. At that time, the party was called the People's Centre Party (''Rahvakeskerakond'') to differentiate from the smaller centre-right Rural Centre Party (''Maa-Keskerakond''). The party was a member of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...

until 14 September 2024.

History

In the parliamentary elections of March 1995, the Centre Party was placed third with 14.2% of votes and 16 seats. It entered the coalition,

Edgar Savisaar Edgar Savisaar (31 May 1950 – 29 December 2022) was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Estonian Centre Party, Centre Party. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia, acting Prime Minister ...

taking the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and four other ministerial positions (Social Affairs, Economy, Education and Transportation & Communications). After the " tape scandal" (secret taping of talks with other politicians) in which Savisaar was involved, the party was forced to go to opposition. A new party was formed by those who were disappointed by their leader's behaviour. Savisaar became the Chairman of the City Council of the capital city Tallinn. In 1996,

Siiri Oviir Siiri Oviir (born 3 November 1947) is an Estonian politician and Member of the European Parliament. Oviir was born in Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a ...

ran for the presidency of Estonia. In the parliamentary elections of March 1999, the Centre Party, whose main slogan was progressive

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, gained 23.4% of votes (the first result) and 28 seats in the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

. Party members are active in its 26 branches – eight of them are active in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, 18 in towns and counties. The Centre Party became a member of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party) is a European political party composed of 76 national-level parties from across Europe, mainly active in the European Union. The ALDE Party is affiliated with Liberal Interna ...

(then known as the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party) at the organisation's July 2003 London Congress. The party also applied for the membership of the

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

(LI) in 2001, but the LI decided to reject the party's application in August 2001, as Savisaar's conduct was adjudged to "not always conform to liberal principles". In 2001, Kreitzberg unsuccessfully ran for the presidency of Estonia. Savisaar was the Mayor of

, the capital of Estonia, from 2001 to fall 2004, when he was forced to step down after a vote of no confidence. He was replaced by

Tõnis Palts Tõnis Palts (born 29 March 1953, in Kuressaare) is an Estonian politician and former mayor of Tallinn and Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, an ...

Res Publica ', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...

. In January 2002, the Centre Party and the

Estonian Reform Party The Estonian Reform Party () is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kristen Michal since 2024. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" () or as "the Squirrels" (), referencing its logo. It was founded in ...

formed a new governmental coalition where Centre Party got 8 ministerial seats (Minister of Defense, Education, Social Affairs, Finances, Economy & Communications, Interior, Agriculture and Minister of integration and national minorities). The coalition stayed until the new elections in 2003, in which the party won 28 seats. Though the Centre Party won the greatest per cent of votes, it was in opposition until March 2005 when Juhan Parts' government collapsed. In 2003, the majority of the party's assembly did not support Estonia's joining the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU). Savisaar did not express clearly his position. A number of Centre Party members exited the party in autumn 2004, mostly due to objections with Savisaar's autocratic tendencies and the party's EU-sceptic stance, forming the Social Liberal group. Some of them joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, others the Reform Party and others the People's Party. One of these MPs later rejoined the Centre Party. Since Estonia's accession to the EU, the party has largely revised its formerly EU-sceptic positions. In 2004, the Centre Party gained one member in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

–

. The Centre Party gathered 17.5% share of votes on the elections to the European Parliament. Oviir joined the

(ALDE) Group. The Centre Party participated in government with the

and the

People's Union of Estonia People's, branded as ''People's ViennaLine'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austro-Swiss airline headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St ...

from 12 April 2005 until a new government took office after the March 2007 elections. The Centre Party had five minister portfolios (Edgar Savisaar as Minister of Economy, also Minister of Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Interior). Local elections on 16 October 2005 were very successful to the Centre Party. It managed to win 32 seats out of 63 in

City Council, having now an absolute majority in that municipality. One of the factors behind this success in Tallinn was probably the immense popularity of Centre Party among Russian speaking voters. The controversial contract of co-operation between the Estonian Centre Party and the Russia's dominant political party of power

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

has probably contributed to the success in ethnic Russian electorate as well. The Centre Party formed a one-party administration in the City of Tallinn led by Jüri Ratas, a 27-year-old politician elected the Mayor of Tallinn in November 2005. He was replaced by Savisaar in April 2007. The Centre Party is also a member of coalitions in 15 other major towns of Estonia like

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, Narva, Haapsalu and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. In the

2007 Estonian parliamentary election 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, super ...

, the party received 143,528 votes (26.1% of the total), an improvement of +0.7%. They took 29 seats, a gain of one seat compared to the 2003 elections, though due to the 2004 defections which had decreased their strength, they actually gained 10 seats. They are now the second largest party in Parliament and the largest opposition party. In 2008, the party criticised

Andrus Ansip Andrus Ansip (; born 1 October 1956) is an Estonian politician, a member of the European Parliament, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, in office from 2014 until 2019. Previo ...

's policies, that in Centre Party's opinion have contributed to Estonia's economic problems of recent times. On 16 June 2007,

and Jaan Õmblus published a proposal of how to improve what they regard as Estonia's economic crisis. In the European Parliament elections of 2009, the Centre Party gained the most votes and 2 out of 6 Estonian seats, which were filled by

and Vilja Savisaar. In local elections of 2009, the party strengthened its absolute majority in the Tallinn city council. Despite their absolute majority, they formed a coalition with the Social Democratic Party. Recent polls suggest the party is especially popular amongst Estonia's

Russophone This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of Derus ...

minority. On 9 April 2012, eight prominent Centre Party members decided to leave the party citing frustration of their attempts to bring openness and transparency into party leadership. Previously MP

Kalle Laanet Kalle Laanet (born 25 September 1965) is an Estonian politician and police officer. He is member of XIV Riigikogu. Since 2014 he belongs to Estonian Reform Party. He served as Minister of Justice from April 2023 to April 2024 in the third cabine ...

was expelled on 21 March for his criticism of the party leadership. The leaving politicians included MEPs

and Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, MPs Inara Luigas, Lembit Kaljuvee, Deniss Boroditš and Rainer Vakra, and also Ain Seppik, Toomas Varek. In the local elections of 20 October 2013, the Center Party and its leader

were successful, obtaining the absolute majority in the city of Tallinn with 53% of votes, winning 46 seats out of 79 (2 more than the 2009 results), considerably more than the second party, the

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union Isamaa () is a Christian democratic and national conservative political party in Estonia. It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res ...

, which received 19% of votes and 16 seats. The Estonian Centre Party obtained a good result in the 2015 election, obtaining 24.8% of votes and electing 27 MPs. The party remained in opposition to the new government of Taavi Rõivas, which was supported by the Estonian Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. In Autumn 2016, Savisaar stepped down as party leader and Jüri Ratas was elected in his place. In November 2016, the Social Democratic Party and the Pro Patria Union withdrew from the government coalition and entered a no-confidence motion against the government, together with the Estonian Centre Party. On 9 November 2016, the

approved the motion with a 63–28 vote and Rõivas was forced to resign; in a following coalition talk, the Centre Party, SDE and IRL formed a new

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

led by Center Party's chairman Jüri Ratas. The new government was sworn in on 23 November.

Parliamentary elections of 2019

In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Centre Party lost support while the opposition

gained support and won a plurality in election. After the election, the head of the Centre Party, Jüri Ratas turned down an offer by the Reform Party for coalition talks and entered into talks with

Isamaa Isamaa () is a Christian democratic and national conservative political party in Estonia. It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res ...

and

Conservative People's Party of Estonia The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (, EKRE) is a Estonian nationalism, nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Estonia led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012 with the merger of People's Union of Estonia and Est ...

(EKRE), the latter widely considered a far-right party. Ratas had previously ruled out forming a coalition with EKRE during the election campaign because of its hostile views. The inclusion of EKRE in coalition talks after the elections was met with local and international criticism. In a poll conducted after the start of the coalition talks, the party of Jüri Ratas further lost support. The critics of the decision have claimed that Ratas is willing to sacrifice his party's values, the confidence of his voters and the stability and reputation of the country to keep his position as prime minister. Ratas has countered that his first duty is to look for ways to get his party included in the government to be able to work in the benefit of his voters and that the coalition would continue to firmly support the EU, NATO and would be sending out messages of tolerance. Some key members and popular candidates of the party have been critical of the decision, with Raimond Kaljulaid leaving the board of the party in protest. Yana Toom, a member of the Centre Party and its representative in the European Parliament expressed criticism of the decision.

, popular among the Russian-speaking voters, has said the Centre Party cannot govern with EKRE's approach. On 5 April 2019, Raimond Kaljulaid announced his decision to quit the party, deciding to sit as an independent member of the Parliament.

Coalition government (2021–2022)

In January 2021, after the resignation of Jüri Ratas as Prime Minister,

Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the ...

formed a Reform Party-led

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...

government with the Estonian Centre Party. However, on 3 June 2022, Kallas dismissed the seven ministers affiliated with the Centre Party, governing as a minority government until a new coalition without the Centre Party was formed on 8 July.

In opposition (2022–present)

In the 2023 parliamentary election, the Centre Party received 15.3% of the vote and 16 seats in the Riigikogu. The party remained in opposition. Following a donation from businessman Parvel Pruunsild that split the party's board and led to a special congress, party leader Jüri Ratas announced his intention to not run for leadership again. Following the announcement, he endorsed

Tanel Kiik Tanel Kiik (born 23 January 1989) is an Estonian politician and former cabinet minister. In the years 2012–2016, Tanel Kiik was an advisor to Jüri Ratas in the Riigikogu and in the years 2016–2019, he was the head of Prime Minister Jüri ...

as his successor while

mayor

declared his candidacy for leadership. Pundits speculated the election to be the most important in the party's history, with Kiik being perceived as representing the liberal and Estonian-speaking wing of the party while Kõlvart was seen as the representation of the conservative and Russian-speaking wing. Kõlvart won the leadership election with 543 votes against Kiik's 489, being elected the third leader in the party's history. In September 2023, Kõlvart won the Centre Party's leadership election. His victory marked a significant change in the party's direction, choosing to focus more on its Russophone electoral base and shifting to socially conservative and economically syncretic positions, with the party becoming seen as one specifically of the niche Russian minority concentrated in the capital

and

Ida-Viru County Ida-Viru County ( or ; ) is one of the 15 counties of Estonia. It is the most northeastern part of the country. The county contains large deposits of oil shale the main mineral mined in Estonia. Oil shale is used in the production of shale oil ...

. As a result, in the following months the previous party leader Jüri Ratas and several other party members defected to other political forces, leaving Centre Party with one third of its initial parliamentary representation (down to only 6 MPs) and with an increasingly weaker position in the following opinion polls. In August 2024,

Jaak Madison Jaak Madison (born 22 April 1991) is an Estonian politician and a member of the European Parliament, where he is a member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs and the European Parliament Committe ...

, an MEP and former member of the

, joined the Centre Party. Madison rejected allegations that the party was pro-Russian and stated that he wished to reorient the party as a conservative people's party. On 14 September 2024, the party withdrew from the

, citing a policy divergence on issues of

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

between the Centre Party and ALDE.

Ideology and platform

The Estonian Centre Party has been described as a

social-liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited ...

, or left-conservative, party that is in favour of the

social market economy The social market economy (SOME; ), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system with social policies and enough re ...

, and it has been also described as populist. Its political position has been described as either

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

,Toomla, R. (2010) Eesti erakonnad 2000-2010. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus. ("Estonian parties 2000-2010", in Estonian) or

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

, since it combines

left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often includes elements of anti-elitism, opposition to the E ...

elements and social liberalism.

Tõnis Saarts Tonis, Tõnis or Tönis is a masculine given name. Tõnis is an Estonian language, Estonian form of Anthony (given name), Anthony. Tönis is a Dutch language, Dutch and Swedish language, Swedish form of Tönnis and diminutive form of Antonius, Ant ...

. Persistence and decline of political parties: the case of Estonia. ''

East European Politics ''East European Politics'' is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal covering the government, politics and Society, societies of the post-communist space, including East Central Europe, the Baltic republics, South Eastern Europe, Russia, a ...

'', 2015, Vol. 31, No. 2. Lk 214 This is despite the fact that the party holds positions considered contrary to social liberalism on a number of issues. For example, the party suggests that Estonia should deliberate re-establishing criminal punishments for the possession of even small amounts of illegal substances, and the Centre Party's parliamentary faction did not agree on its stance in regards to same-sex marriage, which is traditionally supported by social liberals. Party leader Jüri Ratas opposes same-sex marriage, while his preferred successor in the 2023 leadership election,

, stated his support for it. Political scientist Martin Mölder labelled the party as left-conservative, adding that the party's voter base is "equally as conservative as

". Former Prime Minister

also pointed to the party's conservative voter base. The potential alliance of Isamaa, EKRE, and the Centre Party has often been labelled as the "conservative camp", "conservative wing", or "conservative alliance", while many experts regard the party as having a notable liberal and conservative wing, highlighted by the 2023 leadership election. Historically, the party has been the most popular party among Russian-speaking citizens. In 2012, it was supported by up to 75% of ethnic non-Estonians.'

Platform

The party says it promotes the protection of human rights; solidarity and tolerance; and freedom and pluralism. They advocate for a strong and well-functioning state, as well as evidence-based governance.

Economic Policy

The party claims that its goal is the formation of a strong

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

in Estonia. The Centre Party declares itself as a "middle class liberal party"; however, against the backdrop of Estonia's

economically liberal Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...

policies, the Centre Party has a reputation of having more left-leaning policies. They promote keeping the minimum wage steady while trying to reduce economic inequality. They hope to accomplish this through targeted investment to regions with weaker economies, training and up-skilling workers, and tax system reform. Additionally, they support the continued development of Rail Baltic.

Cultural Policy

Despite its reputation as a stronghold for ethnically non-Estonian voters, it professes support for the Estonian language as the basis for the Estonian national identity. However, it does promote respect for ethnic and linguistic minorities. As such, it was the only party to vote against a 2025 constitutional amendment which stripped the right of non-citizens to vote in local elections, which largely affected the substantial population of Russian citizens and stateless residents living in Estonia.

Social Policy

The party supports the creation of social welfare programs such as a social housing program and support for single parents. It also supports a strict immigration and migrant policy.

European representation

The Estonian Centre Party currently has two members of the

, one of whom sits in the Renew Europe group and the other of whom sits in the

European Conservatives and Reformists European Conservatives and Reformists may refer to: *European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a soft Eurosceptic European political party *European Conservatives and Reformists Group The European Conservatives and Reformists ...

group. In the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

, the Estonian Centre Party sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with one alternate member for the 2020–2025 mandate.

Leadership

(1991–1995) * Andra Veidemann (1995-1996) *

(1996-2016) * Jüri Ratas (2016–2023) *

(2023–) On 10 September 2023, Mihhail Kõlvart was elected party leader at a special party conference in

Paide Paide is a town in Estonia and the capital of Järva County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia. Etymology Paide's German name (originally or in Low German) means 'white stone'. This name was derived from the limestone used for the constru ...

. He received 543 votes (51.91%), defeating

who received 489 votes (46.75%).

Election results

Parliamentary elections

ImageSize = width:450 height:150 PlotArea = width:420 height:125 left:30 bottom:20 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:ER value:rgb(0.000,0.500,0.000) DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:5 PlotData= bar:Votes color:ER width:30 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:92 color:ER from:start till:12.25 text:12.25 align:center bar:95 color:ER from:start till:14.17 text:14.17 align:center bar:99 color:ER from:start till:23.41 text:23.41 align:center bar:03 color:ER from:start till:25.40 text:25.40 align:center bar:07 color:ER from:start till:26.08 text:26.08 align:center bar:11 color:ER from:start till:23.32 text:23.32 align:center bar:15 color:ER from:start till:23.32 text:24.81 align:center bar:19 color:ER from:start till:22.2 text:22.2 align:center bar:23 color:ER from:start till:15.3 text:15.3 align:center ImageSize = width:450 height:150 PlotArea = width:420 height:125 left:30 bottom:20 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:EK value:rgb(0.000,0.500,0.000) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:35 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0 PlotData= bar:Seats color:EK width:30 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:92 color:EK from:start till:15 text:15 align:center bar:95 color:EK from:start till:16 text:16 align:center bar:99 color:EK from:start till:28 text:28 align:center bar:03 color:EK from:start till:28 text:28 align:center bar:07 color:EK from:start till:29 text:29 align:center bar:11 color:EK from:start till:26 text:26 align:center bar:15 color:EK from:start till:26 text:27 align:center bar:19 color:EK from:start till:25 text:25 align:center bar:23 color:EK from:start till:16 text:16 align:center

European Parliament elections

Notes

References

External links

Official website
(in English) {{Authority control 1991 establishments in Estonia Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties Centre-left parties in Europe Eurosceptic parties in Estonia Liberal parties in Estonia Left-wing populism Populist parties Pro-independence parties in the Soviet Union Russian political parties in Estonia Social liberal parties