Madison refuses to resign despite pressure from party
Jaak Madison, who has been mired in two scandals after being elected to Parliament, said he will not quit as an MP despite Conservative People's Party (EKRE) board member Martin Helme saying he will propose Madison to stand down.
Madison, who is the youngest MP at 23, was in the spotlight a month ago for blog posts written in 2012 which defended the economic aspects of the Nazi regime in Germany.
This week, he was fined 100 euros by the police for minor embezzlement of a smart phone. He only narrowly escaped criminal charges, which would have booted him out from Parliament.
Madison told regional paper Järve Teataja that EKRE is not a two-man show of father and son Mart and Martin Helme and many in his party have supported him.
“I will be in Parliament for four years and then the voters may evaluate me,” he said, adding that he has made mistakes, but they were not severe enough to leave Parliament. He also said he will not leave Parliament even if he is ejected from his party.
Helme said on ETV on Wednesday that he will motion Madison to resign, adding that there is a vast difference in the two scandals over Madison.
If Madison does not stand down, the party's board will discuss the matter on Monday, Helme said. Helme said he himself is personally deeply disappointed. He added that the matter is especially severe in the light of EKRE promising a new, more ethical, political culture.
Editor: J.M. Laats