Lukas ran for Isamaa in Tartu city at Sunday's local elections, picking up 1,537 votes, but under Estonia's electoral system he is under no obligation to take up a seat, meaning his votes can be redistributed to candidates lower down on Isamaa's electoral list in Tartu.

Asked by ERR if he would give up his role managing the museum in order to reenter politics, Lukas said: "No, definitely not. Politics is in the hands of professionals, I am not a professional politician at this moment," adding that it would be a full-time post which he could not juggle alongside his commitments to the museum.

Isamaa's negotiations with Reform, the dominant party in Estonia's second city, are ongoing and Lukas said he did not want to speak openly about the party's positions, though said that cooperation and coalition with Reform was viable.

"Isamaa is currently on a new, upwards trajectory," he said. 

"The Reform Party has shown that it has high hopes for cooperation with Isamaa, so I don't want to see any clouds obscuring the future now."

There were many areas of commonality with Reform, he added, including focusing on education, culture and kindergarten fees, while negotiations between Reform, Isamaa and also the Social Democratic Party started in Tartu today, Tuesday, he said.

Tõnis Lukas was Minister of Culture from April 2019 to January 2021, in the Center/EKRE/Isamaa coalition.

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