 the area in the chamber designated for independent MPs who have usually left the party they were elected for), this is not the case so much today.
When positions on issues within a single party were not clear, direct democracy avenues might have a use, Professor Pettai thinks, though caution would always need to be exercised.
For instance, collecting signatures for a popular initiative was open to manipulation if, for example, PR companies were hired for the task, he says.
He also points out the Latvian and Lithuanian approach to such popular initiatives. These are possible in Estonia's Baltic neighbours, but require 10% of the electorate to initiate proceedings – which in Estonia would be about 88,000, considerably higher than the 25,000-50,000 proposed by EKRE.
Professor Pettai also notes that populism could take different forms and go in two main directions. One way would be to attack institutions like the courts and judiciary, the media etc., and another, more right-wing, variant, attacks foreigners and minorities.
One EKRE proposal is to have an independent, directly elected judiciary on fixed period terms. A leading party member, Martin Helme, has called for journalists at public broadcaster ERR to be removed from the air due to ''bias''.
ERR's Rain Kooli says that the old, tripartite forums for voicing opinion, where a person might say one thing to close friends, another to like-minded associates, and something else publicly, was breaking down, thanks largely due to the rise of social media and always-on internet connectivity, as well as the consolidation of print media compared with the early days of independent Estonia.
No statement or corner of the internet is hermetically-sealed any more, Mr Kooli writes on ERR's Estonian online news.
A 21st century politician is always ''naked'', or at least scantily-clad, something which not all Estonian politicians have yet grasped, he says.
Speaking of politicians, in a separate opinion piece, ERR's Toomas Sildam notes that whilst Jüri Luik (Isamaa), outgoing defence minister, a role he would reprise in the proposed coalition, had previously viewed a coalition with EKRE as undesriable, the fact he is now signed up to the deal is no bad thing.
''Doing a Raimond Kaljulaid'' (not Mr Sildam's words) and standing down from the party would benefit noone, Mr Sildam argues, and could potentially lead to evil prevailing.
Conversely, a good man remaining might head this off; far from the crisis of values which President Kersti Kaljulaid had referred to, there is no crisis of values if we do not practice evil, but rather stay and resist it, he argues.
Writing in church newsletter Eesti Kirik in a piece reproduced by ERR's online Estonian news, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Estonia, Archbishop Urmas Viilma, questioned whence ''European values'' derive.
Whereas the EU charter on fundamental rights makes no mention of Christian values, Archbishop Viilma argues, there is an implied Christian heritage which, he says, a ''greater Europe'' is staidly based upon. This means that the Bible – which former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves recently quoted from in regard to the current political situation in Estonia – still very much underpins European values, without any need for false shame or political correctness, the Archbishop says.
Finally, another Postimees opinion piece by Ülo Mattheus, originally published in cultural newspaper Sirp, notes that the current tensions surrounding the issue of immigration neither exist in a vacuum, nor are peculiar to eastern European countries.
Mr Mattheus cites the example of the Turkish Gastarbeiter, guest worker in Germany, a feature of that country's society since the 1960s and an effort to combat a labour shortage in the former West Germany. This, he says, led to a present day ''Turkish'' population in Germany of around four million, with around another two million muslim people of other origins, and, he says, has led to the rise of forces opposing such policies.
Other Western European examples he draws upon include the Freedom Party of Austria, a right-wing populist party which enjoyed electoral success in that country twenty years ago, and the rise of its former leader, the late Jörg Haider, who, he writes, was already seeing significant gains at the polls in the mid-eighties, before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Mr Mattheus posits a ''Christian'', or more accurately, he says, ''Catholic'' set of almost atavistic national values which are behind movements like EKRE, even in non-Catholic, non-religious Estonia.
Entries open for first Morrisons-sponsored Great North Run – up for it?
The Red Arrows fly across the Tyne Bridge during 2014 Bupa Great North Run, Newcastle. Picture Scott Heppell/NOVA International Handout/PA Wire.
THE general entry ballot for the world’s greatest half marathon is now open.
Tens of thousands of runners will be tackling the 13-mile trek from Newcastle to South Shields on Sunday September 13 – and you could be among them.
The 35th Great North Run will be the first sponsored by supermarket chain Morrisons after event organisers ended their long-running partnership with private health care company Bupa last year.
Last year also saw the millionth finisher complete the event.
The Great North Run weekend also includes the Great CityGames, the Great North 5k and the Junior and Mini Great North Run.
Last year double Olympic and World champion Mo Farah thrilled the huge crowds and the live BBC TV audience by winning the Great North Run for the first time.
Many of the world’s greatest distance runners including Haile Gebrselassie, Paula Radcliffe, Liz McColgan, Derartu Tulu and Kenenisa Bekele have triumphed over the years.
To register for the ballot, prospective applicants should go to www.greatrun.org.
The ballot will close at noon on Monday February 9th with all applicants being notified by email on or before Thursday 12 February.Urbanisation in South African cities remains an important topic for policymakers in government. Recently, some debate has been taking place about the pace of urbanisation and whether it is, in fact, as rapid as common sense dictates. While this debate pertains to the country’s six metropolitan cities, there is less information available and analysis of urbanisation and its impact on the country’s smaller towns and cities. A recent research report commissioned by the local government learning network, Hologram, looks at what is happening in some of the country’s secondary cities, concluding that a dangerous combination of poor economic growth and rapidly-growing populations is cause for concern. These towns are often the first port of call for migrants escaping rural poverty.
The report analysed the situation in Umtata, Welkom, Witbank, Upington, Newcastle and Stellenbosch and concluded that all of these towns, bar Stellenbosch, were in economic decline, and have been for the last decade. This is attributable to reduced activity in mining, agriculture, a decline in the manufacturing sector as a result of an ability to compete globally, and, in the case of Umtata, due to the demise of the homeland government. While these primary economic activities have declined, most of the towns have not been able to successfully diversify their economic base, and explore the possibilities of growth in new areas. The success of Stellenbosch in the agribusiness, tourism and service sectors is attributed to its proximity to and integration with greater Cape Town.
While local recession characterises these economies on the one hand, rapid population growth is also under way together with growing informal settlements, a growing backlog in municipal service provision, and a surge in all the social problems that accompany growing poor communities with little hope of employment. Unemployment is high: 57% in Umtata and 54% in Newcastle. Even in Stellenbosch, where unemployment stands at 17%, there is a high percentage of ‘working poor’ who qualify for subsidised water and electricity, and may be seasonal workers.
Pundy Pillay, the report’s author, argues that government policy at national, provincial and local level is doing little to tackle the problem. Municipalities, in particular, are floundering as they try to tackle the challenge of local economic development, a municipal responsibility as set out in the Constitution. He argues that to deal with the economic challenges facing secondary cities there is a need for much deeper intergovernmental cooperation than has occurred up to now. At present, economic development strategies between the three spheres of government show little sign of co-ordination, with local policies often not linked to provincial approaches. Pillay also argues that the macroeconomic approach adopted by government has been particularly rough on secondary city economies, which suddenly found themselves competing unsuccessfully with the world’s most competitive firms and cities. There has also been inadequate focus on the development of local entrepreneurs and small businesses in these areas, particularly when big businesses are increasingly capital intensive. Pillay argues that there are compelling reasons not to ignore the plight of South Africa’s towns. At present they are home to a very significant portion of the population, and doing nothing to create opportunities within them will accelerate migration to the big cities. At the same time there are strong linkages between these towns and the country’s rural areas, and increasing opportunities in these towns will assist in the allevi-ation of rural poverty.Plus: Another COVID-19 vaccine, another blow against DHS DACA order, and more...
"At what point does this get ridiculous?" asked Judge Andrew P