The Reform Party of the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of the most outspoken supporters of Ukraine in Europe, is on her way to a landslide victory in the general election which was held on Sunday. Kallas faced the challenge of the far-right populist party EKRE, which seeks to limit the Baltic nation’s exposure to the Ukrainian crisis and blames the current government for the country’s high inflation rate.
The party of the outgoing prime minister with 32% of the votes sees the presence in Parliament increase by 4 seats (101 seats in total). The runner up, the party of far right, retreats instead to 15% and loses two seats in the national assembly. Kaja Kallas will need to form a coalition to have a majority but the political direction provided by the Estonian electorate is clear: calls for the pro-European line and full support for Ukraine to be maintained and for the aggressive threat posed by neighboring Russia to be stemmed.
Half of the votes were cast electronically: the Baltic country is among the most advanced in Europe in the use of new technologies for the tasks of the state and the bureaucracy.