Estonian presidential candidate Ülle Madise: unity and trust must be rebuilt

Estonia's Riigikogu has nominated Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise as a presidential candidate, initially backed by 75 members of parliament, with the Isamaa party later joining her supporters. In an interview, Madise explained that she only made her decision after Riigikogu members and faction leaders personally called her, denying that any tactical calculation was involved.

On the election process

Madise defended Estonia's constitutional method of electing the president through parliament, noting that incumbent President Alar Karis was elected the same way, in a second round, and went on to enjoy strong public trust. She argued that switching to direct elections would require expanding the president's powers and effectively shifting Estonia toward a presidential system, moving away from parliamentary democracy. She pointed out that in countries with directly elected presidents holding greater powers, campaigns tend to be harsher and voters often end up disappointed.

Rebuilding trust and unity

Madise said the president's role is to bring people together rather than deepen political divides, while stressing this does not mean forcing everyone to think alike — differing views are natural in a free society. She said a troubling trend imported into Estonia in recent decades has been to spread fear and mistrust, amplified by social media algorithms that favor negative and destructive content. She called on Estonia to resist this trend and preserve respectful, substantive debate.

"Estonia must remain Estonia"

Explaining her well-known phrase, Madise said Estonia should use its independence to preserve the Estonian language and culture, adding that anyone, regardless of ethnic background, can become a bearer of that language and culture if they willingly embrace it. She stressed that no one should be forced to leave Estonia because they feel undervalued or cannot find adequately paid work.