The new Estonian prime minister did not feel dizzy to step into the leadership of the state in the midst of the economic and interest rate crisis. “We were ready for this two years ago,” he says in an HS interview.
Gulf of Finland
Tallink the ship plows the ice-covered Baltic Sea towards Tallinn. The Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas sit in the room reserved for the interview.
He has just had his first visit abroad as prime minister. According to tradition, the first trip was to Finland, where he met the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and the Prime Minister Sanna Marinin.
Kallas describes Marin as a warm person. At the beginning of the press conference, the real joy of the meeting was heard from the gestures and tones of the prime ministers. Although left-wing demar Marin and market-liberal Kallas represent very different political directions, finding a common tone seemed easy.
“I believe we will become good allies at the European level,” Kallas says with satisfaction.
The quality of Finnish-Estonian relations has recently spoken on both sides of the bay. The distances are tight and good, of course, but there is room for improvement, Kallas says. He recalls the 1990s, when friends from neighboring countries on both sides of the bay pushed relations forward in both the cultural and economic spheres. There were festivals between the countries, twin cities, exchange studies.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with the new Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas in Kesäranta. According to Kallas, it would be easy for Finland and Estonia to develop more connections between the countries.
Perhaps the younger generations lack the experience of finding a common language, Kallas ponders.
The prime ministers decided to launch a year-long study aimed at further developing relations between the two countries.
Kallas dreams of a “European Silicon Valley” formed by Finland and Estonia, in which innovations in the field of digitalisation and science are developed at the forefront. Together we are more, he notes.
From Kallas, 43, became Estonian prime minister about a month ago after the previous one Jüri Rataksen the government led by the government disbanded due to suspicions of corruption against the Ratas Center Party.
The President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid appointed Kallas as the new Board Examiner. Kallas quickly formed a coalition with the disbanded center party of the previous government.
Read more: Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas resigns, the president calls on the leading opposition party to form a new government
Jumping into the leadership of a state in economic and interest rate crisis did not dizzy Kallas’ head.
“We were ready for this two years ago,” Kallas says.
He refers to the spring 2019 elections won by the Kallas-led Reform Party. However, Kallas found no coalition partners, and Ratas formed a government along with the Conservatives.
The Reform Party, accustomed to working for the government, and Kallas, who was preparing for the post of prime minister, faced opposition. However, two years in parliament did good for the party, Kallas says.
The current the reform party that makes up the government and the center party are politically far apart, but common issues have been found to be promoted, Kallas says.
Matters on which the parties disagree are left out of this government, Kallas says. There are only two years until the next election.
The other parties to Ratas ’disbanded coalition government, the conservative Fatherland and the national conservative Ekre, are now in opposition.
“I have now after working board noticed that the Fatherland and Ekre are very excellent good work of the opposition. They fit there perfectly. We, on the other hand, fit better into the government, ”says Kallas.
Ekre is currently Estonia’s third most popular party with less than 19% support. Support has risen since moving to the opposition, which, according to Kallas, is natural because Ekre’s agenda is to oppose power, not keep it.
Although Kallas does not want to cooperate with Ekre, the fears and concerns of Ekre’s supporters must be taken into account. That is why the Reform Party talks about issues that are important to them, such as the preservation of language and culture and the vitality of remote areas, Kallas says.
Kallas belongs to the generation that learned to speak Finnish through television. Knight Ace, Wonder MacGyver, Kallas lists. The Finnish-Estonian dictionary was widely used in translating subtitles.
At first, the policy was not in Kallas’ plans. His father Siim Kallas is one of the founders of the Reform Party as well as the former Prime Minister of Estonia, his mother is a doctor and his brother is in the financial sector. Kallas wanted to prove he was following his own paths.
“Those three directions were excluded. So I went to study law to become the best in the field. ”
Kaja Kallas’ father Siim Kallas (pictured) is one of Estonia’s most important politicians.
Kallas began his career at a very young age. The 1990s were a hectic time in Estonia. The market was completely new, and Kallaskin was able to participate in huge projects despite his young age. At the same time, relations with Finland continued. As a lawyer, Kallas had many Finnish clients and partners.
However, while working on the private side, Kallas began to notice things that could be done better and more effectively. The transition to politics eventually happened naturally. I guess it’s in the blood after all, and you can’t fight your genes, Kallas says.
Kallas was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2011. From 2014 to 2018, Kallas was a Member of the European Parliament. From the time of the European Parliament, Kallas mentions the Social Democrat MEP as a good friend Mia-Petra Kumpula-Natrin.
“Many times I’ve spent Labor Day with him,” said Kallas.
Father Kallas has said he experiences conflicting feelings about his daughter’s prime minister. As a party colleague and Member of Parliament, he said he was happy about the matter, but as a father he would have liked an easier job for his daughter, Kaja Kallas says.
Father and daughter do talk about politics. Kallas says he is grateful that they can share their experiences with the prime minister.
“However, that doesn’t mean I always listen to him, I make my own decisions,” Kallas says.
Coronavirus situation Estonia is bad. Infection rates are among the highest in Europe in relation to population.
However, the restrictions are looser than in many other European countries. For example, museums, theaters and cinemas are open as are restaurants and bars until 9 p.m. Schools have been in contact teaching and hobbies such as Group Exercise have been allowed to a limited extent.
For the next two weeks, some restrictions have been tightened due to winter holidays. However, too much the government does not want to restrict society and business. Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik has recalled that “everything that is allowed is not recommended”.
Critics say the Kallas government is shifting responsibility for managing the pandemic to the necks of individual citizens and putting the economy ahead of health.
“But that is the responsibility of individual citizens,” Kallas says. “Most infections are traced to workplaces and homes. The government cannot intervene in them. We can only ask to avoid the crowds, to stay telecommuting, to wear masks. ”
However, a large proportion of infections in Estonia remain untraceable.
Kallas justifies his government’s line on the grounds that the coronavirus has two types of victims. There are those who get a coronavirus infection. Then there are the “invisible victims,” that is, those who become unemployed due to strict restrictions, struggle with mental health problems, and suffer from distance school.
Finland and Estonia’s lines towards its common neighbor Russia have traditionally diverged. Finland has emphasized the importance of maintaining a dialogue. Estonia has been tougher and more cautious about Russia, which is easy to understand because of the country’s history.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalnyin a political trial in Russia worsened EU-Russia relations. For Kallas himself, Navalny’s fate was no surprise, and it did not change his attitude towards Russia.
“We have always known what Russia is like. We are not naive in that respect. At European level, we may sometimes have been seen as too loud on these issues, but Russia has shown that even if Europe wants dialogue, Russia will not agree. ”
Foreign minister Pekka Haaviston meeting Sergei Lavrovin with Kallas kept nicely taken care of.
“Russia is trying to break up Europe, but Haavisto emphasized our unity. That was very important to us. ”
Estonia at the end of the Gulf of Finland there is less ice at sea. Finally, there is time to ask about climate change. Yes, it is also an important theme for Kallas. The Kallas government’s climate goals are not as ambitious as in Finland, but, for example, the deadline for abandoning oil shale has now been set for 2035.
Overall, the transition to a more sustainable society will, of course, take time. Many Estonians still choose the SUV, but Kallas often treads his commute on a bike.
“We could all do these little things. But cycling, for example, would require good bike paths that could be better in Tallinn, ”Kallas sighs.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid congratulated the new Prime Minister Kaja Kalla on her inauguration day on 26 January.
Kaja Kallas
■ Born in 1977 in Tallinn.
■ Lawyer, graduated from the University of Tartu in 1999 and from the Estonian Business School in 2010.
■ Member of the European Parliament in 2014-2018.
■ Chairman of the Reform Party since 2018.
■ Married to banker Arvo Hallik, the new family includes two children from the former union of Hallik and one child from the former union of Kallas.
■ In addition to Estonian, he speaks English, French, Russian and Finnish.
■ He practiced folk dances as a child and young people, nowadays he enjoys golf, skiing and roller skating.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/hs-interview-politics-took-kaja-kallas-with-him-although-he-didnt-like-it-estonian-prime-minister-dreams-of-a-european-silicon-valley-formed-by-finland-and-estonia/
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