Fission and fusion of parties in Estonia, 1987-1999

We provide a schematic history of contemporary Estonian political parties, 1987-99, in which we specify dates of party origin and subsequent fissions and fusions of some fifty movements and parties, and we briefly discuss som e important factors and features in party formation. Our analysis begins wi th the seminal 1987-94 period that marked the rebirth of Estonian democracy , with an extension to two subsequent parliamentary elections (1995 and 199 9). We argue that the early phase of Estonian party competition generally e xemplifies what we call "kaleidoscopic parties": parties that form around l eaders rather than durable issues and lack any organizational permanency or any real voter attachment. However, the rate of formation of new groups ha s decreased, and the major parties may be becoming more stable than in the past. While there is some evidence of a left-right patterning now emerging in the political debate in Estonia, the parties have not aligned themselves along such a left-right continuum.