The mayor of Estonia’s northeastern border city of Narva Katri Raik admits she has a difficult choice ahead of her – she needs to decide if she wants to run in the next parliamentary elections or remain serving as mayor of Narva, as reported by Estonian public media ERR.
«Of course the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) has invited me to run,» she told ERR on Thursday. «But I don’t know yet whether I’ll run, because Narva’s facing so many challenges that I haven’t had the chance to even think about it. And it’s also clear that I’ll have to decide then whether I help Narva or I campaign for election.»
She explained that Narva, as a city with mostly Russian-speaking population, is focused on organising transition of local education to Estonian language only and finding rental options for arriving teachers. Renovation of buildings is also underway to improve insulation. The city is also trying to secure as many investments from the EU’s Just Transition Fund as possible.
«Likewise crucial is a structural reform of the city government,» the mayor stressed. «To this day, we have three accountants, but no personnel director and no internal audit. Right now, Narva needs five years’ of development in the span of one in order to make up for neglected development opportunities. That’s what I and my team are trying to do.»
She also mentioned that the residents of Narva also look to the mayor as a representative of the state.
«Narva residents have been repeatedly deceived as it is, and I wouldn’t want to do that myself now if I were to join the Riigikogu,» said Raik.
«I was given such a strong mandate in Narva that I should stay on in the city based on that alone. I can’t leave my people behind.»
On the other hand, Raik also said that she as a politician that received the majority of votes in Narva has obligations before SDE.
«If I don’t run and SDE doesn’t exceed the election threshold [of 5 percent], that would remain on my conscience, and I don’t want that either,» she admitted.