The rector of Estonia’s Tallinn University of Technology, Tiit Land, has effectively conceded the presidential race to his rival, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise, ERR reports. After the national-conservative opposition party, Fatherland, decided to support Madise’s candidacy, Land noted that she was likely to be the only candidate with enough support to be officially nominated in the parliament, the Riigikogu. Madise now appears to have the support of around 74 MPs, which would be enough for her to be elected in the first round of voting, ERR reports. Nevertheless, the opposition Estonian Centre Party will continue supporting Land for president, the party’s parliamentary group leader Lauri Laats insisted.
Meanwhile, Martin Helme, chairman of the populist opposition party, Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), criticised Fatherland for supporting Madise, whom Helme labelled as “a liberal candidate of the liberal camp,” ERR reports. He noted that instead of supporting EKRE’s founder, Mart Helme, for president, Fatherland again preferred cooperation with the Social Democratic Party (SDE) and the Estonian Reform Party, which back Madise. The presidential election process shows that EKRE stands “alone in the conservative camp,” Helme asserted. In his view, the “liberal gang” of Estonian politics consists of Reform, its coalition partner Estonia 200, SDE, and the non-parliamentary Right-Wingers.