Her win is “a good sign for the solidarity of the European Union and continued support of Ukraine,” said Robert English, director of central European studies at the University of Southern California.
Estonia, which borders Russia, was occupied by the Soviet Union in the 1940s. It regained independence after the end of the Cold War, joined NATO and the European Union and developed a flourishing digital economy. The nation of 1.3 million grappled with a surge of Ukrainian refugees after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and later faced soaring inflation and a recession. But Kallas’s management of the threat — she has been called Europe’s “Iron Lady” for her refusal to compromise with Putin — won her party favor with voters.
Here’s what to know about Kallas and why her win matters.
Kallas comes from a high-profile political family that suffered at the hands of the Soviet Union.
Kallas, 45, is a daughter of a former Estonian prime minister and a great-granddaughter of Eduard Alver, an early 20th century independence war commander.
As an infant, her mother was deported to Siberia by Stalin’s regime, a story that Kallas has referenced in her arguments for supporting Ukraine. “To anyone who lived under Soviet occupation, Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine replay the worst Soviet crimes,” she said in a speech last year. “My mother was an only six-month-old baby when she, my grandmother and my great-grandmother were sent off to Siberia in cattle wagons.”
Kallas started her career as an attorney before becoming a member of Estonia’s legislature and then the European Parliament. In 2018, she was elected leader of the Reform Party, a group that English said would be regarded by many Americans as a liberal-centrist party.
She led the Reform Party to first place in the 2019 polls, but a deal between smaller rivals prevented her from entering government and becoming prime minister until early 2021.
Beyond urging more diplomatic and material support for Ukraine, Kallas has also advocated for renewable energy and wider LGBTQ rights. A fluent English speaker and prolific social media user, she is widely quoted in international media and has been credited with raising Estonia’s influence in the European Union and around the world.
“She’s economically conservative, very pro-free market, but she’s very socially liberal, young and dynamic,” English said. “She’s staunchly pro-European and anti-Putin.”
Concern about the war in Ukraine and its aftershocks dominated the election.
The Reform Party’s main political opponent, a right-wing populist party, argued that Estonia should focus on its domestic economy. It called for domestic spending to help voters through economic woes, which includes an inflation rate of nearly 20 percent last year and a recession forecast to continue through at least the first half of 2023.
But Kallas’s commanding victory suggests most voters are willing to sacrifice financially to back Kyiv, and her pro-Ukraine stance is broadly supported by most other Estonian political parties. “Everyone understands that the recession and inflation is because of the war,” English said. “But people are apparently willing to pay that price because they see Putin’s Russia right across the border.”
The Kremlin “might have hoped for a more divided result and a weakening of solidarity with NATO, with the E.U., but they didn’t get it,” said English. “Not by any stretch.”
Kallas has routinely urged more assistance for Ukraine and harsher consequences for Russia.
Kallas wrote in an April essay for the Economist that Estonia’s government would increase its defense spending beyond the target outlined by NATO. She also advocated for measures that would hurt the Kremlin financially, including putting some of the money Europe pays for Russian energy in an escrow account.
The prime minister has also called dispatching military aid to Kyiv a “top priority.” About half of Estonia’s defense budget is given to Ukraine, which Kallas has justified by noting that Kyiv’s fighters are “weakening the same enemy as we have.”
“Sometimes, the best way to achieve peace is to be willing to use military strength,” she wrote in the Economist.
Kallas has pushed for punitive measures against Moscow, including a visa ban on Russian tourists and a threat to boycott sporting competitions that allow Russian athletes.
As of December, Estonia also hosts the largest share of Ukrainian refugees as part of its population, according to the International Monetary Fund.
However, Kallas’s firmly pro-Ukraine stance and influence with other European powers does not guarantee other E.U. countries will continue to prioritize support.
“Maybe this was to be expected — Estonia is a front line country,” English said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that national elections in places like Spain or Greece are going to be as consistent.”
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
