[Ter]

Thousands of Estonian far-right supporters hold torchlight march ahead of polls

EKRE party expected to make big gains in elections next weekend; counter-protesters hold rally under slogan ‘Sparkle and don’t be a Nazi’

TALLINN, Estonia –Thousands of supporters of Estonia’s far-right EKRE party held a torchlight march to mark independence day in Tallinn on Sunday as the once marginal party is set make big gains in a general election next weekend.

Party chairman Mart Helme told the crowd that Estonians refuse to “die out” and want more autonomy in the EU, reflecting the EKRE’s eurosceptic stance.

Other protesters held a counter-rally under the slogan “Sparkle and don’t be a Nazi,” but there were no incidents, according to police.

While EKRE won only seven of the 101 seats in parliament in the 2015 general election, opinion polls show it is set to capture around 21 percent of the vote next Sunday.

The result puts it narrowly behind the opposition liberal Reform Party and the governing centrist Center Party, which took office in November 2016.

According to experts, the EKRE’s growing popularity is rooted in the misgivings of rural Estonians who feel left behind, and reflects a trend that has seen the growth of right-wing nationalist parties elsewhere in the European Union.

“These people see few economic prospects and feel that the mainstream parties don’t care much about their problems,” Tonis Saarts, an associate professor of politics at Tallinn University, told AFP.

The EKRE’s growing appeal is also rooted in its opposition to immigration, multiculturalism and same-sex marriage.

“The mainstream parties and the Estonian media tends to be more liberal than the rest of the population,” Saarts noted.

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“The EKRE is the only party which is able to express ultra-conservative values in the most convincing way,” he added.

Saarts sees similarities between the EKRE and other far right parties in Europe like Italy’s League party or Germany’s AfD in terms of their opposition to immigrants and multiculturalism.

He notes that the EKRE’s position on liberal democracy and its key institutions like civic and human rights, rule of law and separation of powers is “very ambiguous.”

EKRE supporters also shun Estonia’s large Russian minority, accounting for around a quarter of the Baltic state’s population of 1.3 million.

Wary of Russia, the EKRE is a staunch backer of NATO membership.

Estonia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II and remained under Moscow’s thumb until 1991.

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https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands ... -of-polls/

Estonia has apparently not been spared the scourge of the populist movement.
Our local reporter @johnrawls will report.

[JohnRawls]

'
https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands ... -of-polls/

Estonia has apparently not been spared the scourge of the populist movement.
Our local reporter @johnrawls will report.

Well yes, Estonia is part of Europe so we are expected to have the same processes as the rest of Europe.

We have a Switserland style parliament usually which means that there are 5+ parties usually. And the only way to actually create a government is to enter a coalition.

I wouldn't say that the Estonian media and parties are very liberal compared to the population. They were around 10 years ago but nowadays it is different.

What do you want to know about our situation Ter?

[Ter]

What do you want to know about our situation Ter?

Well, there seems to be a strong feeling against globalism, immigration and multiculturalism.
If that party gains 21% as estimated, will it have a serious influence on the next government ?

Will Estonia join the already long list of EU countries that have second thoughts about the direction the EU is taking ?

[JohnRawls]

Well, there seems to be a strong feeling against globalism, immigration and multiculturalism.
If that party gains 21% as estimated, will it have a serious influence on the next government ?

Will Estonia join the already long list of EU countries that have second thoughts about the direction the EU is taking ?

Among EKRE definately there is a strong feeling against immigration and multiculturalism. A large chunk of EKRE supporters are older people who have not seen black people in their lives recently. For example one of my friends grandfather. Who lives on a island basically and as my friend said "Started complaining when 1st black person moved in near by".

As for how much of an influence they will gain it is hard to say. You see Estonian politics are complicated and as long as you are in a sort of shit-list then you will have nobody being in coalition with you. There is a pro-Russian party of sorts called the Centrist party (Keskerakond) which was excluded from many government coalitions just because it was basically shit-listed although it was gaining very large percentages 20-40% etc. But the situation is resolved mostly right now and they are more or less acceptable again.

So what of EKRE, will they also get shitlisted? Hard to say but my suspicion is that to a certain degree they will be. But it will heavily depends on how much % they will get.

As for the EU policy of EKRE it is hard to say. When EKRE started then it was spouting this leave the EU nonsense but as they started moving anywhere closer to positions of power they also started to tone down the rhetoric. Especially with Brexit around. So yes, to a degree they want things to change in the EU but i do not think they necessarily want to leave the EU.

Also describing EKRE as shuning the Russian minority is a bit untrue. There is a fear that EKRE will do that though and a very large fear of that. But mostly their current rhetoric is against immigration from Ukraine/Belarus/Blacks/Etc. As their leader puts it Slavic immigration.

[Beren]

Let you guys make history and embrace Russia spontaneously this time!

[JohnRawls]

Let you guys make history and embrace Russia spontaneously this time!

The funny thing is that EKRE is blamed for being a Putin stooge party by the common folk who do not support their position. You know, if you don't like something blame it on Russia. Politics are sometimes surreal.

[Beren]

The funny thing is that EKRE is blamed for being a Putin stooge party by the common folk who do not support their position. You know, if you don't like something blame it on Russia. Politics are sometimes surreal.

I won't pretend to know anything about Estonian politics and parties, but I wouldn't be surprised if Putin supported anything anti-EU there, as well as anywhere else for that matter.