Meri has indirectly criticized the current government, suggesting that the center, center-left administration of Prime Minister Mart Siimann has been too indecisive. In his January 1 speech, the president didn't name names, but again seemed to call into question the Estonian government's overall handling of affairs of the state. We had our share of bank frauds, misprivatizations and abuse of official status. The judicial system moves slowly, blame is dispersed and people lose their confidence in the state. The Estonian president also warned that 1999 would be a difficult one internationally, and he said Estonia would have to work hard to stay out of economic and political difficulties itself.
Estonian politicians wake to the changes too late.
Before World War II, the Lithuanian capital was home to some 60,000 Jews, virtually all of whom were killed during the 1941-44 Nazi occupation. The renaming of the city street, from Kalvarijos to Jerusalem, comes in advance of a January 15th visit to Lithuania by Israeli parliament chairman Dan Tichon. Relations between Israel and Lithuania have at times been strained over questions related to Germany's wartime occupation. Resisting pressure from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Estonian President Lennart Meri on December 31 signed a bill requiring that local and national lawmakers speak Estonian well enough to cope in their jobs as representatives . The law, adopted by Estonia's legislature in mid-December, would require that members of parliament and local governments be able to participate in legislative work and also be able to understand the substance of draft laws.