inexperience was a disadvantage. In some cities such as Parnu and Viljandi where the Veterans formed the largest party they were
nevertheless unable to form the municipal government because they were kept out of power by bourgeois-socialist coalitions that reinstalled the previous administrations. In Tallinn, where the League had an absolute majority on the city council and was expected to form the municipal government, the process dragged on for so long that the new council was not convened before Pats' coup d'état in March. The only notable success w as in Tartu, where the Veteran Hans Ainson was elected mayor and the council immediately voted to reduce the salaries of the mayor and the councillors as the League had p r o m ise d .4 5
The new constitution came into force on 24 January 1934 and its implementation meant that elections for the presidency and a new
Riigikogu had to be held within 100 days. These were proclaimed for 22-23 and 29-30 April respectively. Laidoner and Pats were nominated as
presidential candidates, the former jointly by the Settlers' and Centre Party, and the latter by the Farmers' Party and the Nationalists' Clubs (Eesti
Rahvuslaste Klubide Liit). Conspicuously absent from among the candidates was Tonisson, the man with perhaps the most obvious presidential stature. No doubt that he would have dearly desired the position, but so great was his unpopularity after his fractious and
ignom inious spell as Riigivanem that even he understood that the time w as inopportune for his ambition.
Larka did not have the stature of the other candidates. While Pats as Prime Minister had been the political leader of the War of
Independence and Laidoner, the military Supreme Commander, the Veterans' promotion of Larka as "the leader of the constitutional battle" appeared rather pathetic in comparison.^ Although Larka had held high posts during the war, this was overshadowed by an aura of failure and the lack of glamour of having served in the rear and not in the field. The League stressed that Larka had been Estonia's first Minister of War and had been in charge of the war effort in its first weeks; however, this simply served to remind people that the dramatic turnaround in the military situation coincided with the appointment of Laidoner as Supreme Commander and Larka's relegation to the post of Deputy Minister.
Marandi, M ust-valge lipu all, pp. 372-3.
Kindral A. Larka. Pohiseaduse lahingu juht (Tallinn, 1934), the Veterans' presidential campaign brochure.
The last to enter the field and the most problematic was August Rei, the Socialist candidate, who had previously served as the only Socialist
Riigivanem. As in countries where fascism was successful, the left in Estonia was also divided. The Socialist Party leadership was increasing challenged by a left-wing opposition led by Nigol Andresen, head of the Young Socialists. The conflict came to a head at the Socialist Party congress on 3 February 1934 in Tartu. The opposition strongly criticized the Central Committee for not being sufficiently revolutionary and relying on co operation with the bourgeois parties in combating the Veterans. Andresen argued that "the activation of the masses is especially important in
fighting fascism, but the Central Committee's chosen means, coercion by the police and government, has done more to propagate fascism than to fight it."47 Rei and the party leadership, on the other hand, emphasized the need to attract not only workers, but also farmers and the urban
middle class who they saw as being the most susceptible to fascism.^® The strife between the two wings of party erupted with protests against the en bloc re-election of the Central Committee. Dissatisfied with the
proceedings, the opposition challenged order by singing the International. Seeing that events threatened to get out of control, Rei as chairman called an end to the congress, leaving its business unfinished and its rifts to g r o w .4 9
The Central Committee, rather than the congress, decided to nominate party chairman Rei as the party candidate for president. The Socialists had no illusions about their chances of success in the
presidential election. Rei's candidature was submitted to the electoral commission only on the last possible day and it was not certain that Rei w ould receive the 10 000 signatures required to be certified as a candidate.
Rahva Sona reminded Socialist supporters that if Larka should receive one more vote than Pats and Laidoner combined, he w ould be elected. The Socialist Party calculated that by fielding a candidate more people
Kuuli, Vapsidest Isamaaliiduni, pp. 129-30.
^ The program put forward by the Central Committe at the congress stated that the party "must also attract farmers suffering economic difficulties, broad masses of the the middle class in general. . . only as the backbone of such a large popular movement can the Socialist movement win." The main points of the program were the following: to end unemployment, raise purchasing power, a second land reform to create 10 000 new farms, the development of industry, state regulation of credit, and nationalization of big enterprises. It concluded uninspirationally that it was not a "wonder drug", but a "practical step towards socialism", Rahva Sona, 14 February 1934.
Rahva Sona, 7 February 1934; Kuuli, Vapsidest Isamaaliiduni, pp. 129-32; Mihkelson, Vastu tuult, pp. 315-9.
w ould turn out to vote thereby decreasing the likelihood of a Larka
victory. Thus, Rei's candidature was meant for the first round only; in the second round the Socialists intended to support either Pats or Laidoner against Larka.^o
A common front on the left against the threat from the right was never a real possibility. The Communists were weak and their activities were severely hindered in the early Thirties by arrests and the closure of their organizations by the police. The Estonian Workers' Central
Association, closely allied with the Socialist Party, rejected Communist overtures for limited co-operation on the practical grounds that it would give the police a new opportunity to close down trade unions and that the Communists did not have much strength to put out anyway.^i Of course, co-operation was not fostered by the Communists' use of slogans such as "Down with the henchman of fascism - the Social Democratic Party which supports the government of hunger, misery and fascist r e a c t i o n ! " ^ ^ in any case, the distance between the Socialists and Communists who had been on opposite sides during what for the former had been a War of
Independence and for the latter, a civil war, was too great.
The League made systematic preparations for the election campaign. On 9-10 February a speaker training course was held with over 200
participants.^^ The program included presentations by Klasmann on the structure of the organization, Sirk on the responsibilities of the leaders, Mae on propaganda, Telg on the need for corporations to counter the fragmentation of the nation, and finally a 'model speech' presented by Sirk.^ The participants were provided with a number of pages of details on 'corruption' which they could use to give concrete substance to their speeches and to assist in answering questions from the public. What were some of the specific charges of corruption emphasized by the League? Most of these had to do with the use of state funds to support enterprises associated with political parties: the seed import association run by the Farmers' Party owed the state 80 million kroons, but since the money
Rahva Sona, 28 February 1934, Mihkelson, Vastu tuult, pp. 303-5. Kuuli, Vapsidest Isamaaliduni, p. 114.
ERA, f. 1, n. 7, s. 90, Ik. 629-34. During the campaign, the League relied mainly on six speakers: Sirk, Mae, Telg (who, however, lost his nerve half-way through the campaign), and three representatives of the working class, Kreek, Tois, and Frank, Mae, Kuidas koik teostus, p. 92.
^ Mae gave the following guideline: "the weapon the parties use is slander; [but w e shall] not answer with the same but be correct and present facts which are verified", ERA, f. 1, n. 7, s. 90, Ik. 629-34.
could not be recovered, it was made a monopoly; a building for the
political parties and a Workers' House for the Socialist Party were funded by cheap loans from the state; export markets were poorly organized; the excessive fees for the use of the cold storage facilities at Tallinn harbour w ent into the pockets of the partymen; before the rye monopoly was
implemented large imports from abroad were allowed in; state agricultural capital was used to give loans to large enterprises associated with
politicians rather than to farmers.^^ Perhaps the most striking thing about these charges are that they are in fact rather unspectacular and not
particularly substantial. It is hard to believe that a great national protest movement could have grown out them. It could not be said on the basis of these charges that corruption was endemic in the Estonian political system or that it was noticeably more widespread than in other countries.
The campaign appeared to be a battle between the two retired generals. Hjalmar Mae, the chief propaganda strategist for the League dismissed Pats' chances. Of Larka's opponents, Laidoner was considered the most serious threat and therefore the League concentrated most of its campaign propaganda against him.^^ Having been the Supreme
Commander in the War of Independence, Laidoner was a greatly
honoured public hero, and the League's propaganda w isely respected that. The approach used was to acknowledge his great deeds during the war, but to express 'disappointment' over his subsequent activities.^^ He was
painted as a tragic figure who became enmeshed in the corrupt political system and lacked the strength and will to do anything about it; he was taken to task for having been aware of the rot, but not having lifted a finger to stop it. Laidoner was compared unfavourably with other ex- supreme commanders such as Marshal Pilsudski who did not remain an observer when Poland was in a political mess, but acted decisively to put the state in order. Rather than work for the national interest, Laidoner pursued personal profits by becoming a director on the boards of a number of companies. His business dealings, however, had not been particularly successful and he had incurred a number of debts. Voitlus published the details of Laidoner's business dealings which had brought losses to the state and how the Bank of Estonia had cancelled some of his debts.^^ This was the greatest propaganda coup of the campaign since unlike the usual
55 e r a, f. 949, n. 1, s. 100, Ik. 29-34. 56 Mae, Kuidas koik teostus, pp. 99-100. 57 Voitlus, 10, 13 February 1934.
mud-slinging, this could be substantiated as Mae had actually obtained accurate financial records from bank officials and tax inspectors.
Larka's opponents attacked him on the question of his health and his rank. Larka was pensioned from the army in 1925 because of
tuberculosis and was certified unfit to work. In this regard he had taken the state to court over tax exemptions that he believed he w as entitled to, but in December 1933 before he was officially proclaimed the League's presidential candidate, he had the army medical commission declare his fitness for service. His waffling over this and his being an 'invalid' led the press to question his suitability for the p r e s i d e n c y .Larka's opponents also challenged the legitimacy of his promotion directly from the rank of lieutenant-colonel to major-general by the Estonian Provisional
Government in 1918, alleging that he had fraudulently represented him self as a colonel at that chaotic time.^^
A common theme in the press was the negative transformation of the Veterans, contrasting previously positive features which had now degenerated: previously the League had been a 'patriotic' movement, now it was simply 'power hungry'; previously it been 'above politics', working for the national interest, now it was a mud-slinging, unruly political party; previously it had been led by 'respected' figures, now it was composed of 'unknown w r e c k e r s ' . ^ 2 The last point, implying that with the League's success and expansion the dregs of society had also jumped onto the bandwagon, received a lot of c o m m e n t a r y a negative image of the League was steadily being constructed and being implanted in public perception. A complete exposition of all the elements that comprised this negative representation can been seen in a speech by Jaan Hünerson, a leading figure at the Farmers' Party congress on 18 February 1934. The allegations can be grouped into three sets. The first emphasized the
League's foreignness: the League was inspired by the German example, and thus it represented an ideology alien to Estonia, and its funds came from 'unknown sources' (implying Nazi Germany). The second pointed to the dangerous direction the League was heading: its activities were only
'negative', (i.e. critical of the achievements of the last 15 years) destructive.
Mae, Kuidas koik teostus, p. 100. 60 Marandi, M ust-valge lipu all, p. 380.
V oitlus, 20 February 1934; Maaleht 10 March 1934; Marandi, M ust-valge lipu all, pp. 383-4; Mae, Kuidas koik teostus, p. 90.