Little Country That Could

Foreword by The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Pattie Mart Laar has been Prime Minister of Estonia twice and may well hold that office again. He has shown himself to be pre-eminent among the leaders of the countries of Central and Eastem Europe, as well able to be an example to prime ministers in the allegedly more advanced countries of Western Europe. The Cabinet Room in Tallinn bears the hallmark of Mart Laar's commitment to information technology. There is not a piece of paper in sight. In front of the place of each Cabinet Minister is a screen. This IS light years ahead of Number Ten Downing Street. The supreme challenge for all political leaders of the former communist states has been how to manage the change from a centrally driven economy to a mixed economy with the minimum of pain and upheaval. If the policies are too tentative, the pain, while not so acute, may be too prolonged and the desired result may not be achieved in the end. If, on the other hand, the policies are too severe and abrupt, there is a risk of the patient dying on the operating table. I can think of no one who can speak with greater authority on this subject than Mart Laar. He has won many friends in the West for his courage and vision. I am sure he will win more friends with this book.