PM Backs Commissioner Kallas to Replace Him
A day after EU Commissioner Siim Kallas said he could yet return to Estonian politics, fellow Reform Party member and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that he would like Kallas to succeed him.
Ansip told ERR radio on Tuesday that Estonia needs an internationally recognized Prime Minister in 2018, when Estonia host the EU's rotating presidency, and that there is no one more suitable than Kallas.
He said that one path is to name a person to lead the party at the 2015 Parliamentary elections, who would also replace him as party chairman after the vote.
Speaking about his own plans after the 2015 elections, when he said he will step down, Ansip said he is yet to decide. One position that could interest the PM is Kallas' current job, but coalition partner IRL also has an eye on the commissioner spot.
Kallas told ERR radio on Monday that he has not ruled out returning to Estonian politics when his term as Commissioner ends at the second half of 2014. Kallas is the party's founding member and first chairman, but has held a commissioner post for the past 10 years.