The leader of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), who recently joined a new coalition government in the Baltic country following a populist breakthrough in national elections, has vowed to oppose further centralisation in the European Union.
“I don’t see a reason for ‘ever closer union’ and I don’t support deeper integration in the EU in general,” said Martin Helme, who campaigned against Estonia’s accession to the bloc in the early 2000s.
“We should first do what we have agreed and not focus on finding new ways of integration or deepening integration,” added the 43-year-old, who serves as Minister of Finance in the new government, alongside EKRE chairman and founder Mart Helme — his father — as Minister of the Interior.
Teen boater found clinging to capsized vessel after 3 go missing; 2 bodies recovered
Ex-NFL cheerleader battles former gubernatorial aide in tight GOP primary race
Five takeaways from opening night of first-ever GOP midterm convention
Trump makes stunning first-of-its-kind cash promise in bid to rally GOP voters at Dallas midterm convention
Trump electrifies his base, but the nosebleeds are empty. Is it enough to win the midterms?
Fetterman teases where his true loyalty lies after surprise appearance at GOP convention
EXCLUSIVE: 25 years after 9/11, ICE says more than 2K known or suspected terrorists have been deported
Trump makes convention pitch for Paxton: You may not like his looks, but he’s the best AG in Texas history
US forces obliterate suspected ‘narco-terrorist’ vessel in lethal Eastern Pacific strike, killing 3
Military Base Guards Cleared to Say ‘Have a Blessed Day’ After Pete Hegseth Steps in to Oppose ‘Radical Anti-Christian’ Group
Dem senator delivers surprise video at Republican convention backing McCormick
Jim Jordan to relinquish House Oversight and Judiciary gavels, stirring leadership speculation
HSI agent who investigated child exploitation cases indicted on rape and child abuse charges
Pastor Dies from Injury Suffered While Celebrating Son’s Wedding
Dem incumbent becomes first sitting governor to lose primary since 2018
Estonia: Anti-Mass Migration National Populists Join New Coalition Govt https://t.co/vlmYbJgP08
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 29, 2019
EKRE’s elevation to the Estonian government is another brick out of the wall for the so-called European project, aimed at gradually integrating the member-states of the European Union along federal lines, similar to the United States of America.
Left-neoliberal commentators experienced particular consternation when the Helmes threw up Trump-style “OK” hand signs when they were sworn into office — as much of the mainstream media have been successfully trolled into believing that it is a covert signal for “white power” by users of the 4chan image board.
Teen boater found clinging to capsized vessel after 3 go missing; 2 bodies recovered
Ex-NFL cheerleader battles former gubernatorial aide in tight GOP primary race
Five takeaways from opening night of first-ever GOP midterm convention
Trump makes stunning first-of-its-kind cash promise in bid to rally GOP voters at Dallas midterm convention
Trump electrifies his base, but the nosebleeds are empty. Is it enough to win the midterms?
Fetterman teases where his true loyalty lies after surprise appearance at GOP convention
EXCLUSIVE: 25 years after 9/11, ICE says more than 2K known or suspected terrorists have been deported
Trump makes convention pitch for Paxton: You may not like his looks, but he’s the best AG in Texas history
US forces obliterate suspected ‘narco-terrorist’ vessel in lethal Eastern Pacific strike, killing 3
Military Base Guards Cleared to Say ‘Have a Blessed Day’ After Pete Hegseth Steps in to Oppose ‘Radical Anti-Christian’ Group
Dem senator delivers surprise video at Republican convention backing McCormick
Jim Jordan to relinquish House Oversight and Judiciary gavels, stirring leadership speculation
HSI agent who investigated child exploitation cases indicted on rape and child abuse charges
Pastor Dies from Injury Suffered While Celebrating Son’s Wedding
Dem incumbent becomes first sitting governor to lose primary since 2018
Martin Helme told Britain’s Financial Times he would continue to use the gesture as a sign of defiance to “left-wing radicals who want to hijack language.”
He also defended a previous statement that “What is racist in Europe nowadays is the replacement of indigenous people. That is pure racism,” as well as negative comments on African immigration which he said had been “taken out of context.”
“I am not a racist. People who refuse to participate in collective national suicide through immigration are labelled racist,” Helme insisted.
“We don’t want to be replaced in Estonia with foreigners,” he elaborated in another interview.
“[It] does not make any difference whether they are from Ukraine or from Nigeria… They are not Estonians.”
POLITICO: EU Free Movement Drains Little Latvia of One-Fifth of Its Population #MassEmigration https://t.co/g21rW1FXFr
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 7, 2018
Teen boater found clinging to capsized vessel after 3 go missing; 2 bodies recovered
Ex-NFL cheerleader battles former gubernatorial aide in tight GOP primary race
Five takeaways from opening night of first-ever GOP midterm convention
Trump makes stunning first-of-its-kind cash promise in bid to rally GOP voters at Dallas midterm convention
Trump electrifies his base, but the nosebleeds are empty. Is it enough to win the midterms?
Fetterman teases where his true loyalty lies after surprise appearance at GOP convention
EXCLUSIVE: 25 years after 9/11, ICE says more than 2K known or suspected terrorists have been deported
Trump makes convention pitch for Paxton: You may not like his looks, but he’s the best AG in Texas history
US forces obliterate suspected ‘narco-terrorist’ vessel in lethal Eastern Pacific strike, killing 3
Military Base Guards Cleared to Say ‘Have a Blessed Day’ After Pete Hegseth Steps in to Oppose ‘Radical Anti-Christian’ Group
Dem senator delivers surprise video at Republican convention backing McCormick
Jim Jordan to relinquish House Oversight and Judiciary gavels, stirring leadership speculation
HSI agent who investigated child exploitation cases indicted on rape and child abuse charges
Pastor Dies from Injury Suffered While Celebrating Son’s Wedding
Dem incumbent becomes first sitting governor to lose primary since 2018
The EKRE leader’s past comments, while blunt to the point of insensitivity by the standards of Western Europe, might be better understood in the wider context of the Baltic states’ dire demographic situation.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all have very small populations hovering around 1-3 million — including sizeable Russian minorities transplanted to their countries by Communist regimes while they were subsumed in the Soviet Union, to better erode their sense of national identity.
Since they joined the European Union and acceded to its Free Movement pact, all have experienced mass emigration crises — with Lithuania being literally decimated by the outflow of some 12 per cent of the population over just ten years, for example — threatening their very existence as viable nation-states over the long term.
Story cited here.
