Indrek Tarand: Siim Kallas nobody without high office
According to MEP Indrek Tarand, based on her background and career so far, current Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Kaljurand would be a much stronger candidate for president of Estonia than Siim Kallas, as he finds that Kallas is a man of the past whose ideas are obsolete.
Commenting on Kaljurand’s candidacy, the MEP told Estonian weekly newspaper “LP” (link in Estonian), "If we want to be an advancing, dynamic, forward-thinking, democratic Nordic country, then a citizen whose roots are half-Russian yet herself is fully pro-Estonian, who is a professional diplomat and currently a solid minister of foreign affairs, and is a woman in our male-oriented world is a good choice in any case.”
He went on to liken presidential hopeful Siim Kallas to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. “Without a high office, Siim Kallas is nobody,” claimed Tarand. “That is why he desperately needs some important office, otherwise he is nothing. Sure, he invents some sort of myths that he has tons of ideas and so on. But does anybody know of any?”
According to the MEP, Kallas’ idea to abolish the corporate tax was originally Margaret Thatcher’s, dating back 50 years, and one that is widely regarded to be the wrong approach in modern Europe.
Regardless, he found that the president of Estonia has no political or administrative power anyway. “That remains strictly a matter of parliament and the administration,” said Tarand.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik
Source: Eesti Päevaleht