Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas has won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections, a triumph for one of the EU and Nato’s most pro-Ukraine voices.
Kallas’s liberal Reform party came in first place in Sunday’s vote, taking 37 seats of the 101 in Estonia’s parliament and putting her in pole position to carry on as prime minister and form a new coalition.
The far-right nationalist Ekre party came in second, its best-ever ranking, although it lost two seats to finish on 17.
Estonia, a country of 1.3mn million people which borders Russia, has been one of the EU’s most vocal supporters of Ukraine. Kallas has heavily criticised Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Her frequent appearances in the international media have ensured Estonia punches above its weight as she has pushed other leaders to send more weapons to Ukraine, impose swingeing sanctions on Russia and reinforce the defence of the three Baltic states.
President Alar Karis urged the parliamentary parties on Monday to swiftly agree a new coalition. “The current situation does not favour a long period of uncertainty between the outgoing government packing its bags and the incoming coalition starting up,” the non-partisan president said.
Kallas’s landslide victory — Reform gained three seats and increased its share of the vote — gives her several possibilities for securing a majority in parliament, including a three-party coalition with two other liberal-leaning groups.
Reform now has 37 seats, Ekre 17, Centre 16, new liberal party Eesti 200 14, and Kallas’s two current coalition partners — the Social Democrats and Isamaa — nine and eight respectively. Fifty-one seats are needed for a majority.
Estonia’s international image was damaged and its political system shaken after the 2019 elections when Reform, despite also coming in first place, did not manage to form a coalition. Instead, Ekre and the Centre party, popular with Estonia’s large Russian-speaking minority, formed a controversial government for two years. The Centre party, the biggest loser in Sunday’s poll, lost 10 seats.
During their stint in power, the nationalists insulted many of Estonia’s closest allies including US president Joe Biden and Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin. The coalition collapsed in scandal two years ago, leaving Kallas free to finally form a coalition and deal with both the Covid-19 crisis and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kallas said late on Sunday that Reform would talk to all parties but has already ruled out a coalition with Ekre. “We are very grateful for your assessment of our work,” she added.
Estonia is pushing its Nato allies to announce a heavier military presence in the Baltic states when they meet for a summit in Vilnius in Lithuania in July. Kallas told the Financial Times last week that western unity was becoming harder to maintain but that support for Ukraine needed to continue until it was victorious in the war against Russia.
Congrats for having free and fair elections. It should be an example to countries in the EU, which I will not mention.
Like Poland and Hungary.
Some other EU Member States, which I will not mention, like Poland and Hungary, should take notice.
The EU even states in its own rules that free and fair elections are a must. It’s sad to see that some countries, which I will not mention, like Poland and Hungary, don’t have fair elections.
A question about Estonian elections. Turnout, 63%? This isn’t to say that’s particularly low, but not is it particularly high
I know there’s lots of possible problems with implementing e-voting, but one thing I didn’t consider is that it has negligible impact on turnout.
I read somewhere the methodology changes for turnout this year to include Estonians living abroad. But recent elections seem to all float around a similar turnout.
Are there other reasons for it?
She represents the future of Europe.
Kaja Kallas for European Council President.
Sanna Marin for NATO Secretary general.
EKRE leader Martin Helme suggested on election night that Reform “stole” the election.
“We didn’t do anything wrong. We did everything right and with honesty, unlike those who stole our well-deserved victory,” he said.
Is every right-wing candidate going to dispute the election when they lose?
Liberals and far right nationalists.
So estonians electid a nato tool
>Kallas said late on Sunday that Reform would talk to all parties but has ruled out a coalition with Ekre. “We are very grateful for your assessment of our work,” she added.
Loving the polite shade.Here’s hoping for a stable coalition gov’t when all is said and done.
I envy Estonia. I judge their prime minister only by her interviews about foreign policy, of course. She’s incredibly cool 👑
we got ourselves a PM who dreams about privatizing health care. great success indeed.
11 comments
Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas has won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections, a triumph for one of the EU and Nato’s most pro-Ukraine voices.
Kallas’s liberal Reform party came in first place in Sunday’s vote, taking 37 seats of the 101 in Estonia’s parliament and putting her in pole position to carry on as prime minister and form a new coalition.
The far-right nationalist Ekre party came in second, its best-ever ranking, although it lost two seats to finish on 17.
Estonia, a country of 1.3mn million people which borders Russia, has been one of the EU’s most vocal supporters of Ukraine. Kallas has heavily criticised Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Her frequent appearances in the international media have ensured Estonia punches above its weight as she has pushed other leaders to send more weapons to Ukraine, impose swingeing sanctions on Russia and reinforce the defence of the three Baltic states.
President Alar Karis urged the parliamentary parties on Monday to swiftly agree a new coalition. “The current situation does not favour a long period of uncertainty between the outgoing government packing its bags and the incoming coalition starting up,” the non-partisan president said.
Kallas’s landslide victory — Reform gained three seats and increased its share of the vote — gives her several possibilities for securing a majority in parliament, including a three-party coalition with two other liberal-leaning groups.
Reform now has 37 seats, Ekre 17, Centre 16, new liberal party Eesti 200 14, and Kallas’s two current coalition partners — the Social Democrats and Isamaa — nine and eight respectively. Fifty-one seats are needed for a majority.
Estonia’s international image was damaged and its political system shaken after the 2019 elections when Reform, despite also coming in first place, did not manage to form a coalition. Instead, Ekre and the Centre party, popular with Estonia’s large Russian-speaking minority, formed a controversial government for two years. The Centre party, the biggest loser in Sunday’s poll, lost 10 seats.
During their stint in power, the nationalists insulted many of Estonia’s closest allies including US president Joe Biden and Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin. The coalition collapsed in scandal two years ago, leaving Kallas free to finally form a coalition and deal with both the Covid-19 crisis and the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kallas said late on Sunday that Reform would talk to all parties but has already ruled out a coalition with Ekre. “We are very grateful for your assessment of our work,” she added.
Estonia is pushing its Nato allies to announce a heavier military presence in the Baltic states when they meet for a summit in Vilnius in Lithuania in July. Kallas told the Financial Times last week that western unity was becoming harder to maintain but that support for Ukraine needed to continue until it was victorious in the war against Russia.
Congrats for having free and fair elections. It should be an example to countries in the EU, which I will not mention.
Like Poland and Hungary.
Some other EU Member States, which I will not mention, like Poland and Hungary, should take notice.
The EU even states in its own rules that free and fair elections are a must. It’s sad to see that some countries, which I will not mention, like Poland and Hungary, don’t have fair elections.
A question about Estonian elections. Turnout, 63%? This isn’t to say that’s particularly low, but not is it particularly high
I know there’s lots of possible problems with implementing e-voting, but one thing I didn’t consider is that it has negligible impact on turnout.
I read somewhere the methodology changes for turnout this year to include Estonians living abroad. But recent elections seem to all float around a similar turnout.
Are there other reasons for it?
She represents the future of Europe.
Kaja Kallas for European Council President.
Sanna Marin for NATO Secretary general.
EKRE leader Martin Helme suggested on election night that Reform “stole” the election.
“We didn’t do anything wrong. We did everything right and with honesty, unlike those who stole our well-deserved victory,” he said.
Is every right-wing candidate going to dispute the election when they lose?
Liberals and far right nationalists.
So estonians electid a nato tool
>Kallas said late on Sunday that Reform would talk to all parties but has ruled out a coalition with Ekre. “We are very grateful for your assessment of our work,” she added.
Loving the polite shade.Here’s hoping for a stable coalition gov’t when all is said and done.
I envy Estonia. I judge their prime minister only by her interviews about foreign policy, of course. She’s incredibly cool 👑
we got ourselves a PM who dreams about privatizing health care. great success indeed.
Good news for western democracy.