"I'm certainly not going to. I don't want to say anything bad about Henn [Põlluaas – current Riigikogu speaker and EKRE member] or any other speaker. However, to me, sitting in the Rigiikogu chair, holding the floor, making announcements, approving agendas, banging a gavel – I would find that terribly numbing work; I am too dynamic a person to do it," Helme told Õhtuleht in an interview (link in Estonian).

Helme also said that if the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) were to nominate a presidential candidate for next fall's presidential elections, it would be current speaker Henn Põlluaas.

Presidents of the Republic of Estonia are not elected directly by the people, but via a process of voting at the Rigiikogu, then if this is inconclusive, a regional electoral college, followed ultimately by a vote from the Riigikogu's council of elders – which includes the speaker. Kersti Kaljulaid was chosen via this last means in autumn 2016.

Mart Helme resigned from the post of interior minister Monday following outcry over remarks he had made on a talk radio show the day before on the U.S. presidential elections and president-elect Joe Biden.

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