...és még annyit, hogy...

 An unusually large scandal has shaken public life in Estonia. A survey planned in collaboration between a foundation's research institute and Estonia's largest university (University of Tartu) had to be halted after outrage swept through the country due to the questions and background of the questionnaire. In short: The creators of the questionnaire obtained data on childless women from the Estonian population registry and sent questionnaires to tens of thousands of women, inquiring about their sexual orientation, political preferences, and why they do not have children. Before I delve further into the background of the matter, let's pause at this level for a moment. Not least because several critical voices have already found these questions to be problematic. Can a sociologist ask why women do not have children? My short answer: yes, they can. Sociology examines social phenomena, and population reproduction is a social phenomenon. The birth rate in a country has been mea...

 Estonia's progressive, liberal (which is not a curse word there) center-right party (Reform) won big in the 2023 Estonian parliamentary elections. In the typically diverse party spectrum, Reform captured 31% of the votes, which is enough to secure 33 seats in the 101-member parliament. It is worth noting that in Estonia, math rules, as with 31% of the vote, one can obtain around 30% of the seats. The following populist far-right party (EKRE) received only half as many votes, at 15.8%, which will likely translate to 17 seats. All other parties (six parties entered the parliament) received fewer votes. In accordance with Estonian political traditions, intense coalition negotiations will now take place. The ruling and apparently re-elected Prime Minister of the Reform Party, Kaja Kallas, will now have to find a partner or partners with whom she can form a minimum of a 50+1 parliamentary majority. In Estonian political culture, there is a strong tradition of coalition negotiations. Th...