Session Profile: Riina Solman
15th Estonian Parliament, 5th session, plenary session.
2025-01-22
Political Position
One speaker expresses strong opposition to the car tax, emphasizing its negative impact on large families and residents of rural areas. He questions the government's actions and suggests the need for the government to fall. The second speaker fulfills a procedural role as the Vice-Chairman of the leading committee, supporting accession to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, focusing on the procedural framework rather than the underlying policy.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Topic Expertise
One speaker demonstrates expertise in parliamentary procedure and international law (the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), providing a detailed overview of the bill's processing and its objectives. The second speaker focuses on socio-economic issues, highlighting specific examples of the size of the tax burden (875 euros) and its impact on large families.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Rhetorical Style
The style is dual: one speaker employs an emotional and rhetorical style, emphasizing injustice and suffering and posing sharp questions. The second speaker is extremely formal, neutral, and procedure-oriented, providing a fact-based overview of the bill’s procedural history and referring to specific dates.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Activity Patterns
The speakers are active during plenary sessions, where they both pose pointed questions and provide updates on the work of the lead committee. The second speaker provides a detailed breakdown of the dates and procedural steps for the Social Affairs Committee meetings (e.g., January 14, 2025), which indicates active involvement in the legislative process.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Opposition Stance
The government is facing strong opposition and is being criticized for imposing a severe tax burden (the car tax) specifically on large families. The political criticism is intense, suggesting that families will have to wait for the government to collapse before the situation can be resolved.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Collaboration Style
In the proceedings concerning one draft bill (the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child), no amendments were submitted by Riigikogu members, committees, or parliamentary groups, which suggests broad tacit approval or consensus regarding the ratification of this international treaty.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Regional Focus
One speaker highlights regional disparities, contrasting the situation of large families in Tallinn regarding the car tax with the issues faced by residents in rural areas. The second speaker focuses on international law and national adherence to the UN convention, which has a global focus.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Economic Views
Strong opposition is being expressed to the proposed car tax, which is deemed too burdensome, especially for large families who rely on transportation. The focus is on alleviating the tax burden for socially vulnerable groups, in direct contrast to the burden imposed by the state.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Social Issues
The focus of social problems centers on the economic well-being of large families and the improved protection of children's rights at the international level. The goal is to ensure better protection of children's rights worldwide, allowing them to appeal to the UN committee when domestic legal remedies are not effective.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Legislative Focus
The main legislative focus is the processing and bringing to a final vote of the draft law (534) concerning accession to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. The second focus is opposing the government-initiated motor vehicle tax and demanding the mitigation of its impact.
2 Speeches Analyzed