Speaking to "Aktuaalne kaamera", Land, rector of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) may find himself up against Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise, if he gets formally nominated.

Madise is backed by nearly all coalition Reform Party and Eesti 200 MPs as well as by opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) members at the Riigikogu, while Land has met with the opposition Center and Isamaa parties.

Why do you want to be president?

I feel I have enough experience for the role, since I have served as rector of two universities and have extensive leadership experience, as well as international experience. I personally believe that my strength lies in communicating with people, listening to them and talking to them.

Your rival as a candidate is Ülle Madise. In terms of personal qualities and knowledge, what makes you a better choice than her?

I believe my strengths lie in my many years of work in the world of education and research, as well as my international experience. If we look at the issues we face today – how we can move Estonia forward, what will drive our economic growth, what our family policy should look like – I believe Estonia needs a stronger economy and more innovation. That is a strength of mine. As I also mentioned, I am neutral, and I believe a strength of mine is my ability to talk to all the different groups in society and to comprehend their problems.

What do you think about the fact that Madise currently has at least three parties who have got behind her? 

It shows that Ülle Madise now has the signatures needed, and will be nominated as a candidate.

But don't you think you are simply a pawn on a political forces' chessboard, or that there is something else happening behind the scenes?

No, I haven't thought about it in that way. I'm not someone who believes in conspiracy theories, and I believe I have enough common sense to recognize if this had been the case.

You have been an advocate of the green transition both within academia and more widely. Did the Center Party and Isamaa also quiz you about Estonia's energy policies?

Yes, they did, and we had a frank discussion about it. I support the green transition, but the question is how we define it. I would say that the green transition has perhaps become too ideological here – the direction and the goals are the right ones, but the question is how we achieve them. What matters most to me is that the green transition results in the creation of new clean and climate-friendly technologies, as I noted earlier when talking about technology and innovation.

You also talked about Estonia's population. What are your solutions on changing Estonia's family policy?

I don't have a ready-made solution that would immediately put Estonia's population on a growth path through an increase in the natural population rate. There simply isn't one. The issues are very wide-ranging. I already mentioned the economy – young people are certainly either not starting families or have been putting off doing so due to their financial situation.

There are certainly issues in education too. Having served as a university rector, I know that there is currently a massive gender imbalance in Estonian higher education. Nearly two-thirds of university graduates are women, which is great – they are highly educated – but the corollary is we have fewer young men. This is a social issue: Are young people forming relationships and finding one another while studying at university, or are highly educated young women not starting families, then moving abroad instead?

The registration process for candidates opens a week today, August 21, and closes the following Monday, August 24. The three rounds of Riigikogu voting are set for September 2-3.

As of Thursday, 62 MPs had given their signature to Madise's candidacy, far in excess of the 21 signatures needed to run, and only six short of the total number of votes needed to elect a president at the Riigikogu. Center and Isamaa together have 15 Riigikogu seats, so more MPs are needed to sign off on his candidacy, including those from the 20 currently independent members.

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