05/03/2007 12:06:41 pm
Catching Up or Rushing Past? The free-market Reform Party won the elections in Estonia. This is one more example to show that you can do radical reform and get re-elected. The excuses by non-reformist politicians in, for example, France, get thinner by the day. Estonia′s economy is growing even stronger than China′s, last year by some 12 per cent. There is solid ground for the Reform Party to promise that Estonia will be one of the world′s five richest countries in 15 years time.

Some say that they are just catching up with the west, though. When they reach our GDP per capita, they will make government grow and intervene in the economy, and growth will fade. Well, that is probably wishful thinking for some. This election suggests that Estonians prefer to get wealthy rather than dependent on the state. Everyone could get wealthier quickly, but if we in the West don′t reform, they will cath up and pass us.

But somehow, in that scenario, I don′t think that there would be a protectionist debate about the Swedish plumber in Estonia. He would probably be most welcome.

Read more in the FT - >