Estonian Left Party
The Estonian Left Party (est.: Eesti Vasakpartei, EPP) is a former Estonian political party. It was founded on 28 November 1992 as " Estonian Social Democratic Labor Party " ( Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Tööpartei, ESDTP ). The name " Left Party she wore from 18 December 2004 until its dissolution in 2008.
The EPP saw himself in the tradition of the Communist Party of Estonia, founded in 1920, which in 1940 represented the Estonian regional organization of the Communist Party until 1991. Here she felt particularly the legacy of a sought for national independence and self-determination of Estonia faction within the former KP connected.
Unlike their predecessors, however, the EPP party had no Marxist- Leninist policy program but sought under the current conditions of European societies of the 21st century under the formula of Democratic Socialism reposition, similar to its German sister party Die Linke.
Merely counting 1,200 members, their political influence was slight. In the elections to the Estonian Parliament in 2003, she received 0.42% of votes cast in the parliamentary elections in 2007 only 0.1 %.
At the international level, the EPP was since 1995 in the New European Left Forum ( NELF ) and organized in the European Left Party since 2004.
In June 2008, the party merged with the Constitution Party, a party of the Russian minority in Estonia, the " Estonian United Left Party " ( Eestimaa Ühendatud Vasakpartei ). However, they did not start in the 2011 general election.