Estonia’s premier Kallas faces far-right test, risking Nato unity

BLOOMBERG

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is favored to secure an election victory Sunday, though the vocal Vladimir Putin critic may struggle to form a new government as a far-right party taps discontent.
Kallas, who has become popular at home and abroad for her unwavering support for Ukraine, has held a steady — if at times narrowing — lead over the nationalist EKRE party led by former Finance Minister Martin Helme. But Ekre has won support from older and rural voters as it lashes out at Kallas on migration and the European Union’s green turn.
As of 2 pm, some 57% of Estonian voters had cast ballots — compared with overall turnout of 64% in 2019 — with more than half filling out ballots online.
Kallas has pledged to maintain Estonia’s trans-Atlantic course as a committed member of the EU and Nato. If Ekre manages to forge a coalition, a shift in the country of 1.3 million could jeopardize unity among EU allies in support of weapons deliveries to Kyiv and sanctions against Russia.
Under Kallas’s premiership, Estonia — a Baltic nation that borders Russia to the east — has been one of the most strident critics of Moscow, supplying Kyiv with more weapons than any other country on a per-capita basis. Kallas has said that voters faces a choice between a “friendly, progressive, pro-Western” country and an “isolated, bitter” one.
Ekre has in turn accused Kallas of “warmongering” and supporting Ukraine at the expense of Estonian voters. Campaigning on the slogan “Let’s Save Estonia,” the party has demanded a halt to weapons deliveries and an influx of Ukrainian war refugees.
It’s also assailed the prime minister for Estonia’s 19.4% inflation last year, among the highest in the EU.