Ilves, a former SDE member, made his remarks following controversy over nominations for candidates for this fall's presidential elections, among them top diplomat Riina Kionka – one of the figures Ilves had informally mentioned.

"One party – mine up to 20 years ago – has been using my recommendation as a political cudgel, mentioning just one of the three proposed names and then declaring that they have never even heard of her. Wikipedia would have been the first recommendation, but more broadly this reflects a situation where there is a complete blind spot when it comes to our security stance, possibilities and needs. And this is not only in the one party, but across the spectrum," Ilves wrote in an open letter obtained by Delfi.

Ilves had mentioned Kionka, Estonia's ambassador to NATO Jüri Luik and EU diplomat Matti Maasikas as potential candidates. Current incumbent Alar Karis is eligible for a second term, but has not yet announced if he will be running. A rift between him and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs starting at the end of 2025 has led to calls, including from Ilves, for a head of state who is strong on foreign policy.

SDE chair Lauri Läänemets on Monday claimed the Reform Party had asked his party to propose Kionka's candidacy, a claim which Reform rejected. Läänemets said he was not aware of who Kionka was; he later apologized both to Kionka and Karis, though took the opportunity to have a sideswipe at Michal, who Läänemets charged with cheapening the office of the president.

Ilves reiterated his call for a strong pair of hands in foreign policy to be sitting in Kadriorg, seat of the Estonian president.

"I have repeatedly expressed, both in private conversations and here, the view that in a situation like this we need an intellectual and foreign policy beacon in Kadriorg. For this reason I have mentioned three individuals – Jüri Luik, Matti Maasikas and Riina Kionka. Not that there are not other worthy people out there, but these three have perhaps most clearly demonstrated both their qualifications and their domestic political neutrality, qualities that an Estonian president oriented toward foreign policy should possess," Ilves said.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) was the first to state Ilves had mentioned Kionka in the context of the presidential elections, but has rejected SDE's claim that his party had tried to get SDE to act as the stalking horse in proposing Kionka.

Michal said the Reform Party continues to stand behind President Alar Karis, but tempered his words by saying the party is also fully prepared to support other candidates who could achieve the 68 Riigikogu votes needed for a two-thirds majority – for the election of a head of state.

lves had said earlier this week that the fact that things get so twisted was a major reason he gives domestic politics in Estonia a wide berth.

Ilves' open letter: 'Depression and revulsion'

In his open letter titled "depression and revulsion," (Estonian: Masendus ja tülgastus) Ilves referenced the current situation as representing "the most serious challenges to Estonia's survival since 2004," the year the country joined the EU and NATO, "or even since 1991," the year Estonia restored its independence.

Threats from the U.S. administration to make a de facto withdrawal from NATO, a lack of serious action from the EU and western values seemingly no longer holding across several European countries are the main existential challenges listed in the letter.

This comes at a time when the U.S. administration seems to not be able to join the dots between Iran and Russia while being wastefully gung ho in the case of the former – exacerbated by the sheer lack of any apparent willingness to hold serious conversations on these things.

At home, Ilves referred to the current situation in Estonia as "back in the pre-occupation era," as naive about what is going on now as had been the case at the start of World War II, and with a "stagnant" foreign policy with no clear orientation.

It is against such a backdrop that Ilves proposed the three names listed above in all seriousness, only for it to be taken up as a political stick to beat others.

Ilves was head of state 2006–2016. He had previously been a foreign minister, and then an MEP, after joining SDE. As Estonian presidents have to be non-partisan, he had to leave SDE ahead of taking up that post.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!