Tallinn is jointly governed by nationalists and centrists 0 23

The new capital coalition of centrists and Isamaa has already held two meetings and made initial steps towards forming the city budget, the draft of which is planned to be prepared by the end of January. According to the new mayor of the city, Peeter Raudsepp, the city's finances are currently in good condition; however, new investments are planned to be made cautiously.

"Over the past ten years, the investment needs have increased almost fourfold – a pace that can already be considered excessively high. We do not aim to significantly increase the city's debt burden. We do not want to bring the city budget and investment plan to a state where the city's creditworthiness would be noticeably limited or at risk," said the mayor of Tallinn.

Nevertheless, the new coalition plans large-scale projects. One of them is the construction of an Olympic-sized swimming pool in Lasnamäe, the cost of which may range from 25 to 60 million euros, depending on the chosen project.

"We will do this together with the private sector. But in which architectural project we will find the most successful nuances - this is what we are currently working on. It will take a couple more years, but on paper we want to show as soon as possible what this building will look like," noted Tallinn's deputy mayor Tiit Terik (Center Party).

Another project that has been in the headlines for many years is the reconstruction of the Tallinn City Hall.

"This is a very large facility in the city, requiring a lot of finances, resources, and a good plan, and if we do not address this issue, time and weather will take care of it. We must be faster than them before the building collapses," Terik said.

This is the first winter that Tallinn has taken on the cleaning of all city sidewalks. According to the new deputy mayor for municipal affairs Kristjan Järvan, he is looking forward to the first snow.

"Of course, I am waiting for the moment when I can give that legendary interview, saying that the snow came very unexpectedly. However, we will watch with interest how well we can handle this task in full during the first year. We have already prepared a pen and paper to learn from our mistakes," Järvan said.

The newly elected mayor of Tallinn, 55-year-old economist Peeter Raudsepp (Isamaa), confirmed that he was indeed a classmate of major Isamaa sponsor Parvel Pruunsild at the University of Tartu, but they had no joint ventures or investments.

Social Democrat, former mayor, and city assembly member Evgeny Osinovsky asked Raudsepp at the meeting whether he had any business relations with Parvel Pruunsild in the 90s, and what they were, ERR reports.

"You said you were classmates with this person, which is quite understandable and raises no questions. But some journalists whisper that you had closer business contacts with Mr. Pruunsild in the 90s. I give you the opportunity to answer this question," Osinovsky said.

Raudsepp replied that he was indeed a classmate of Parvel Pruunsild. He explained that various ministers, including finance ministers, prime ministers, presidents of the Bank of Estonia, and prominent business figures studied in the finance and credit specialty at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Tartu.

In Tartu, Tõnis Lukas did not join the Isamaa faction due to the scandalous streamer Kris Kärner.

"I entered the University of Tartu in 1988. If I had done it a year later, you would have asked something like: 'Mr. Raudsepp, you were classmates with Andres Sutty and Tarmo Juristo, what could you tell about that?' I had absolutely no joint ventures with Parvel Pruunsild. Never. I did not participate with him in any investments or entrepreneurial activities. Neither as a co-owner nor in any other capacity. We were classmates."

Social Democrat Maris Sild asked how the newly joined Raudsepp feels about the statements of his party mate Kris Kärner.

"The work of the Tallinn City Assembly started much more politely than in Tartu. One notable deputy there is your party mate Kris Kärner. I am a social democrat, and that means that it was me Kris Kärner called to the wall. This call inspired some of the youth and, for example, threatened a teacher who is a member of the Social Democratic Party. What is your ethical assessment of this and do such statements fit Isamaa?" Sild asked.

Raudsepp replied that he does not know the details of what is happening in Tartu and the context of any particular statement.

"Is everything really as it seems, or sometimes one wants to think that maybe we misunderstood something. I would like to say that if you are put against the wall, I will also come and personally cover you," Raudsepp promised.