Pevkur’s election bid remains uncertain

Hanno Pevkur, one of the Reform Party’s most popular politicians and a former defence minister, has yet to confirm whether he will run in the parliamentary election, ERR reports. Pevkur said he may have news next week, while party secretary-general Kristo Enn Vaga said he is likely to run, with discussions focused on which electoral district and list position he would take.

The Reform Party recently launched a large advertising campaign. Observers noticed that Pevkur and Liina Kersna were missing from an ad featuring the party’s team. Kersna later said on social media that she would take a break from politics and would not run.

Pevkur has not directly answered ERR’s repeated questions about his plans. “There’s nothing to comment on at the moment. Maybe next week,” he told ERR on Wednesday.

Vaga said discussions were under way about where Pevkur might run and what position he would have on the list. He said the party was considering how to maximise its result by putting candidates with different profiles in each district. Vaga added that Pevkur had not suggested he was leaving politics or taking a break.

The party expects to need a couple more weeks to draw up its candidate lists and plans to publicly present its lead candidates by the fourth week of November.

Vaga said the party had also discussed a possible candidacy with Defence Minister Martin Herem, who is not currently a party member. Herem appears in the Reform Party’s campaign ad but does not wear the party’s yellow shirt. Vaga said consultations were continuing and described a possible candidacy as a potential boost for the defence sector, saying Herem’s mission was to develop Estonia’s defence capabilities.

A survey published by Emor in May found that 28% of Estonians trusted Pevkur, making him the most trusted minister in the poll. Social Affairs Minister Karmen Joller and Culture Minister Heidy Purga followed at 19% each. Prime Minister Kristen Michal’s trust rating was 13%.

In the most recent parliamentary election, Pevkur led the Reform Party list in Lääne-Viru County and received 6,567 votes. He ranked eighth nationally by total votes and second, after Kaja Kallas, by share of votes in his district: 23.22%. Mihhail Kõlvart came third on that measure, with 14,598 votes, or 19.51% of his district’s total.

Pevkur not running would be a setback for the Reform Party, which received 31.2% of the vote nationally in the previous election but currently polls between 10% and 14%. Several other strong vote-getters from that election are also not running.