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Interior Minister Mart Helme and Finance Minister Martin Helme, members of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), said on Sunday that the results of the US presidential election were rigged, that Joe Biden was elected by secret state structures and that he and his son Hunter Biden were “bad guys.” “.
Such ministerial comments have caused great outrage in Estonia: President Kersti Kaljulaid called the attack on Biden an “attack on Estonian democracy and security” and plans to convene a Defense Council in the near future.
Reuters / Scanpix Photo / Martin Helme swears in for the minister
On Monday, Mart Helme announced his resignation, citing “slander and lies in the Estonian media” as one of the reasons, assuring that “no one can shut it down.” Helme resigned in an attempt not to jeopardize the spring referendum on the definition of marriage.
Donald Trump and his supporters do not recognize Biden’s victory and say the election was rigged.
An area that is too sensitive?
Stefano Braghiroli, director of the European Union-Russia master’s program at the University of Tartu, said that according to various polls, a large part of Estonian society supports the election of Biden as a guarantee of national security and the stability of the international alliance.
According to him, although Mart Helme has survived scandal after scandal, this time it can no longer be ignored: America is too important to Estonia’s security. 15 minutes Recalls the failure of the initiative to express a vote of no confidence to Mr Helme in December last year; when he mocked the Finnish prime minister.
The political scientist said he does not believe that such statements affect relations between Tallinn and Washington. “I don’t want to downplay Estonia, but I don’t think Estonia is Biden’s biggest concern at the moment,” he added. 15 minutes S. Braghiroli said.
VIDEO: In addition to the five minutes, President Biden: “We believe we will be winners.”
Former official of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, researcher at the Kalev Stoicescu International Defense and Security Center 15 minutes Helme argued that this was the vision of the hypocrisy of Helme ministers, who had previously claimed to regard the United States as Estonia’s main ally.
However, it is now clear that the support is only valid for Donald Trump. “The change in the position of the president of the United States should not change the attitude towards the United States, our most important ally, regardless of who runs the White House,” said K. Stoicescu.
The analyst also does not believe that the speeches of the ministers worsen relations with the United States, although they do not contribute to its improvement.
“I believe that both the US Embassy in Estonia and the State Department have a good understanding of which party is EKRE and who is Helme, so the importance of such statements is not underestimated,” said the former Stoicescu.
For his part, former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told Estonian media that Biden is a good president for Estonia, but not for the current government.
The future of the coalition is uncertain
Helmė was convicted by Prime Minister Yuri Rat and the opposition initiated a vote of no confidence. According to Braghiroli, his resignation could lead to the collapse of the coalition.
“Helme’s presence as Interior Minister was seen as a prerequisite for EKRE to remain in government. In this situation, I see two options: it is highly likely that, given the scale of the scandal, he would not have won a vote of no confidence, so he resigned to avoid a crisis. But it could also be a step towards dissolving the coalition, “said Braghiroli.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Juri Ratas
The political scientist said that Minister J. Ratas had already shown in the past that he would do everything possible to preserve the coalition. If EKRE proposes a successor to the post of Minister of the Interior, it would mean that the party wants to remain in the coalition.
“I suppose that, despite all the noise, EKRE will nominate another interior minister and the coalition will stick, although in general it is gradually falling apart. I would not rule out the possibility of it collapsing after the municipal elections, “Braghiroli said, referring to next year’s elections.
According to Stoicescu, Helme’s resignation will serve both to reduce the damage caused by the statements about the US elections and, in his opinion, to domestic politics, although EKRE will remain in the ruling coalition.
“It is a clearly populist extremist party, its brand is very unpleasant statements, provocations to be in the center of media attention all the time. “It was another such attempt that went too far in such an important and sensitive area: Estonia’s relations with the United States,” he said.
Braghiroli assured that in recent years EKRE had been “the most pro-Russian party”, at least in its narrative, to the detriment of Estonia’s role in the European Union and NATO.
K. Stoicescu agrees: “Who else but Russia would be satisfied if relations between Estonia and the United States were damaged?”
EKRE is very skeptical about the EU, Martin Helme has compared the Community to the USSR in the past.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lithuania and Latvia this year, but surpassed Estonia. At the initiative of EKRE, Estonia has refused to sign a joint declaration on “preserving democracy in Europe”, which seeks to strengthen democracy in the fight against cyber threats and cyber attacks.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min / Stefano Braghiroli
According to S.Braghiroli, EKRE supporters support D.Trumpas, so the scandal is unlikely to hurt the party’s popularity among its voters.
“There is a small number of voters who vote for EKRE just to send a message to the political elite. It may seem that EKRE has gone too far. ” 15 minutes said the political scientist.
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