Madise pledges to be president for all Estonians

Ülle Madise, elected Estonia’s president, said at a press conference in parliament, according to ERR, that she wants to serve as president for all Estonian people and does not expect her fundamental character to change in office.

A demonstration by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party, or EKRE, was held outside the Riigikogu during the presidential election in support of direct presidential elections and against the current election system. Madise said she intended to be president for everyone.

“Of course I want to be everyone’s president. In my previous office, I have always said that all parties and candidates elected to parliament represent the people and deserve respect,” Madise said. “Behind all the parliamentary groups and all MPs are their voters, and they are all equally valuable.”

Madise is still expected to present the annual report of the Chancellor of Justice’s office to parliament before taking office. She said this would not create a conflict of roles because the president’s term begins and the Chancellor of Justice’s term ends when the president takes the oath of office.

“Until then, as long as there is life and health, I will carry out the duties of the Chancellor of Justice. Since the annual overview of the Chancellor of Justice has been completed, I will submit it to parliament in accordance with tradition,” Madise said.

Madise said she did not seek a change in Estonia’s foreign and security policy. “Foreign and security policy must continue to be shaped through cooperation between the president, the government and parliament,” she said.

On direct presidential elections, Madise said they would lead to a major campaign and higher election costs. She said there would still be people dissatisfied with the result who would claim that the election system was wrong.

Madise added that if Estonia moved to direct presidential elections, the president’s powers should also be changed so that people would genuinely feel that something depended on their decision.

Madise has not yet decided whether she will move into the presidential office in Kadriorg. She said she was trying to maintain a reasonable balance between work and family life while also making time for her hobbies and sport. She said she had not yet discussed the matter with her husband and wider family.

Asked by the Aktuaalne kaamera programme what kind of president she would be, Madise said she was unlikely to change significantly.

“I believe people have already got to know me in the office of Chancellor of Justice. The role of president is, of course, very different, but I believe my fundamental character will remain the same: to try to speak about things as they are, be kind, encourage people, look for the good and, where there is a problem, find the shortest and best way to solve it,” Madise said.

“No one can do anything alone. I very much hope that I will have advisers and supporters after I take office as well,” she added.

Speaking about the president’s role in domestic politics, Madise said she believed that no Estonian party, MP or person planning to run for parliament wanted harm for Estonia. She said it was therefore necessary to maintain respectful contact with everyone.

Madise said she had managed to maintain such contact as Chancellor of Justice, but added that political tactics based on destruction rather than construction might no longer move Estonia forward.

“It is time to build trust. As I also stressed in today’s speech, every state official, every member of parliament and the president deserve this trust, and daily work is needed to earn it,” she said.