Dear fellow countrymen in Estonia and in the outer world!

On this last day of the old year I flicked through my three previous New Year's messages. To my surprise I discovered that in each of them I had repeated the question, "Where do we come from, where are we going?" The answers had different accents, but question was still there. Today I'm not going to repeat this question. In some way or other you have found the answer to it by yourselves. Even if the question has not been put into words.

Do you remember that the year 1995 has seen three governments in Estonia? There's nothing wrong with it if you don't. Maybe it's even all the better. A switch of governments in a parliamentary democracy reflects a change in the preferences of the country's citizens; in other words, it reflects the will of the people. The regular election to the eighth Riigikogu and the changes of governments before and after that event -- that's just the expression of your will, so natural by now that there would seem little point in dwelling upon it. However, what we must dwell upon is this most important conclusion: the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia has stood the test of time and begun working; it has begun to work better than other laws. This sentence may bring about questions. When the constitution is working, what does it produce? What is the price on its product? Who is the buyer of the product and who will pocket the charge? Let me answer your questions: the constitution produces stability. Its price is the price of life.

Most economists speak of the outgoing year as the first year of economic growth. Today we can hardly tell it by our purse yet. The annual rate of inflation has slowed down in the past year. Prices and rents have grown less, but they have grown anyway.

The year has brought along crises, which for some reason are called scandals here. There's no time now to speak about tampering with language or about scandal playing down a crisis to a family quarrel. In a state you have to call a spade a spade. We have had crises, but we've also had settlements appropriate to the rule of law.

This is the reality of 1995, two sides of the same coin.

The well-being of the Estonian state and that of its citizens are also two sides of the same coin. The Estonian state can't be doing better than you, its citizens -- and the

other way round. We can count on success in planning our next moves together only if we are conscious of ourselves and our possibilities and stay honest about it. Only if we place the common interests of the state and the people above the interests of circles of friends and political parties.

What does the next year have in store for us?

It's the fourth time you're expecting me to answer the primordial New-Year's-Eve question.

For 1993 I warned you that we had to prepare for a long-distance run rather than be tempted to put on a sudden spurt;

For 1994 I promised that foreign troops would leave Estonia;

For 1995 I predicted new hotbeds of peril, disappointments in the efficacy of international organizations, and momentous changes in the current flux lines.

For 1996 I hope to see that the self-purge I told you about on TV will attain a focal significance for a law-abiding state. It concerns each and every one of us, and it must be manifested in a higher rate of responsibility. The press has learned to analyse and ask questions. The citizen is able to make demands on officials. Shadowy matters have begun to reach lawcourts. Every public official, every citizen must realize that the more power anyone has, the higher is inherently their rate of responsibility. We must make it clear to ourselves that it is incumbent on a law-abiding state to protect the rule of law and the constitution. We have to call a spade a spade and ask ourselves if there is any terrorism in Estonia. In France, the native country of the Declaration of Human Rights, seven citizens perished from terrorist explosions, and since the summer five hundred people have been under preliminary investigation. The rule of law has to rule the street, or else the street will rule the rule of law. There can't be any compromises here.

As a state, we are still only just at a voice-breaking age. We have to learn to behave as a state. We have to think with a million heads, but to speak through one mouth. This requires discipline and a sense of responsibility even of the highest-ranking public officials. Alas, we are slow, lazy and reluctant to learn. We have lost a dangerously long span of time to implement the land reform. As long as land has no master, both the current and future reforms will be all left up in the air. This will decrease the rate of international reliability of the Republic of Estonia, retard our accession to the European Union, create a nostalgic temptation of self-absorption. To become conscious of these and other dangers is the commandment of time of the incoming year. The year will be grim for Estonia if we allow ourselves to be lulled by the present achievements. So let's give the incoming year the right impetus and direction from the start: let it be a year of self-purge and clarification.

To this end, my dear fellow countrymen, I wish you self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. From a snowy Kadriorg I wish you all God speed and a happy New Year!

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