Print Send to friend

Riigikogu Election 2011

PRO PATRIA AND RES PUBLICA UNION’S 100 STEPS FOR ESTONIA

GOVERNANCE PROGRAMME 2011-2015

The main objective of Pro Patria and Res Publica Union is to ensure that the Estonian people, language and culture endure and prosper. To accomplish this, we must support the well-being and justified interests of all people in Estonia. The Estonian state must become even closer to the people than it is now. It must help people when they are in need and listen to their opinions.

The last years have not been easy for Estonia. However, through united effort, we are overcoming the difficulties, and now it is time to lay the foundation for a new period of growth and progress. We must reach the point where everyone has a stable job, wage and home; a point where people do not suffer from undue concern over their children’s future and education. Everyone must have the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones, at home, in a secure environment. People’s work should leave enough free time and opportunities to devote themselves to hobbies, entertainment and culture. IRL considers it paramount that the parents in Estonian families have jobs and that families have a home. The existence of these two things – job and home – is the key to resolving all other problems.

Estonia must be smart, educated, open and tolerant. It must offer every person the best possible opportunities for self-fulfilment, for private business and achieving their goals, either alone or together with companions from Estonia and elsewhere in the world. We trust people, and believe that the state should be less involved in calling people to order than in allowing people to make the choices that are suitable for them.

For all this to happen, Estonia must continue the policies that have brought success to the country, yet remain prepared to embrace change. The Pro Patria and Res Publica Union goes into the next four years with a platform based on our traditional values: a unwavering yet open-minded brand of patriotism; a focus on homes and families; and the readiness to make unpopular decisions if they should be necessary for Estonia.

IRL has been and continues to be a stalwart advocate for Estonia’s long-term goals. We have not acquiesced to cooperation with forces who are distant from these concerns, who consider them unimportant or who focus only on gaining short-term by blithely parcelling out what rightfully belongs to future generations. Our policy is based on values, not on special interests.

IRL offers an integral vision for governing Estonia in the next four years. The following are the most important objectives and ways to achieve them.

● Stable growth in the birth rate. By introducing the mother’s pension and giving it the same importance as the salary compensation paid during maternity leave, we will not only accord value to childbirth but to the growth and upbringing of children.

● A secure future for young people. The opportunity for a free university education will ensure that no one misses out on a good education due to lack of funds.

● Stable livelihoods for families. Due to the increase in costs related to homeownership, many families are having an increasingly hard time making ends meet. We introduced legislation on monopolies and placed stringent restrictions on monopolistic public utility companies. Already now, prices are dropping for the first time. By reviewing renewable energy fees, it will be possible to reduce the price of electricity. For eliminating heating losses and reducing people’s heating bills, we will provide state assistance for insulating apartments. Our goal is to cut heat and water costs by half.

Estonia must continue to grow, and IRL’s economic growth target is triple the average for the European Union. Stable economic growth is not a goal unto itself for IRL – it is a means to achieving well-being. Economic growth reduces unemployment and ensures stable jobs, better wages and career opportunities for everyone. By improving accrual of budgetary resources, we can offer better public services and higher pensions. To do so, we will keep the state budget in balance, we will provide new momentum for private enterprise by lowering taxes on the workforce, and we will support export.

Read our programme