Estonia: The Reform Party of Estonian Prime Minister Ms. Kaja Kallas, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, won the election for the European Parliament.
With 99 percent of ballots counted, Kallas’ liberal group was at 31.6 percent, followed by the far-right eurosceptic EKRE party at 16.1 percent. The Centre Party, traditionally favoured by Estonia’s sizable ethnic-Russian minority, was at 14.7 percent.
“This result, which is not final yet, will give us a strong mandate to put together a good government,” the 45-year-old Ms. Kallas shared while addressing her party colleagues and jubilant supporters at a hotel in the Baltic nation’s capital, Tallinn.
Preliminary results suggested six parties passed the 5 percent threshold of support needed to enter the 101-seat parliament including newcomer Eesti 200, a liberal centrist party.
Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people on Russia’s northwest border, has been one of Kyiv’s most vocal supporters since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Its military assistance to Ukraine amounts to more than one percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the biggest contribution of any country relative to the size of its economy.
Ms. Kallas remarked that any government she formed would keep calling for pressure on Russia.
“We have to invest in our security. Our aggressive neighbour has not vanished and will not vanish, so we have to work with that”, the Reform Party leader added.
Reform is a centre-right liberal party that appeals to business owners and young professionals. The latest results will give the Reform Party 37 seats in the legislature, and Ms. Kallas will need junior partners to form a coalition with a comfortable majority to govern.