Awwal 30, 1432 H/March 5, 2011, SPA -- Estonia heads into its first election as a euro-zone member Sunday, with the center-right government hoping to be rewarded with an unprecedented second term for steering one of Europe's most depressed economies back to growth. The Baltic country of 1.3 million became the 17th nation to adopt the euro on Jan. 1 after enduring its deepest recession since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Economic output plunged a staggering 14 percent in 2009, leaving one in five workers without a job. Fueled by strong exports, growth has returned and the jobless rate has dropped, but at 14 percent it's still among the highest in the European Union. Unlike Irish voters, who punished their government last month for their own boom-to-bust experience, Estonians appear to be have retained confidence in the two-party coalition of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, according to AP. Recent polls suggest his center-right Reform Party and its more conservative partner, known by its Estonian initials IRL, could win more than half of the votes and secure a majority in the 101-seat Parliament. Right now they govern in a minority with 50 seats. That would be a first in Estonia, where no government before Ansip's has served a full term since Western-style democracy was introduced following five decades of Soviet era. «This has brought us political stability,» Ansip, 54, told reporters Thursday. Estonia's economy grew almost 7 percent year-to-year in the fourth quarter, according to EU statistics. That's coming from a low level, but outperforming Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, which is always a source of pride for Estonians.
