Estonia in the News...

Estonia has been in the news a lot recently, mainly because of its robust economic performance – by far the best in the Euro-zone.  This doesn't sit well with Paul Krugman (New York Times columnist and alledged economist, thought of by many as the world's most publicly exposed lunatic), because Estonia's stellar performance was accomplished by implementing the exact opposite of Krugman's recommendations.  Basically, Krugman thinks the way out of the economic doldrums in both the U.S. and Europe is to spend, spend, spend – and Estonia achieved its little economic miracle through quaint techniques like limited government, carefully controlled debt, flat taxes, and fostering of a pro-business environment.

In recent days, this little spat has been kicked up a notch – because Toomas Ilves (the President of Estonia) has been lambasting Krugman on Twitter.  I've spent quite a bit of time in Estonia (though I haven't been there for almost 10 years now), and I know quite a few Estonians.  I'm not a bit surprised that Mr. Ilves is right in Krugman's face.  If you read through the posts, you'll see that not only is Mr. Ilves feisty, but he's got a quick wit as well.  But many others seem to be very surprised to see Mr. Ilves defending his country, including, I'd bet, Paul Krugman.  It will be interesting to see whether and how Krugman responds to one of his victims fighting back.  My guess: he'll either not respond, or he'll respond with his classic arrogance.

My longtime readers know that I think Estonia is a very special place.  I've visited there many times, and I've explored the entire country.  Many things make it special in my mind.  Just one of them is the importance of singing to them, and the festival held in Tallinn every five years.  This festival played an important role in Estonia gaining their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, in what has become known as “The Singing Revolution”.  This video gives you a small taste of that.  For more, I recommend watching the excellent documentary The Singing Revolution.