The Estonian Independence Party is one of a number of small political parties in Estonia that currently has 1,771 members. The party is chaired by Sven Sildnik who ran for Pärnu City Council in EKRE's ranks and was elected.

How would you describe the Independence Party's ideology?

It could be done using phrasing from the Estonian Constitution according to which this country is for the Estonian people, nationality, language and culture. The Constitution also provides that it is sovereign and inalienable. That the Estonian state cannot be imagined without independence. All of it is included in the Constitution.

Talking about the right-left scale, where do you position yourself?

I don't think that axis is relevant anymore. What matters is who lives and who dies. Whether you're in the ranks of the living or those who are going to perish. A sovereign and independent state and its citizens are more likely to survive than those whose laws, values, entertainment and everything else comes from a foreign country, as does everything that can be sold. What is happening today does not lead to survival. Rather, it's the opposite.

It is all far removed from freedom and independence. It is also a far cry from the constitutional order. There is very little our party and I can add to the Constitution. We are a law-abiding party and, therefore, probably quite unpopular. Criminal minds and mentality are commonplace. Respect for the law is something to be ashamed of I gather. Because everything else is more important, more useful! It's more useful!

When profit towers above the law, it is just a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. Of course, people will suffer then and there will be no gains. But yes, I understand, realize perfectly well that constitutional ideas and sovereign values are either unclear or despised by the average person in Estonia. I can see it and I can feel it.

Do I have it correct that you are accusing today's parties of...

I am not accusing parties of anything. I am accusing voters and those distorting and defiling voters' brains, like the press, ERR included. The accusation is aimed mainly at you.

Still, you seem like a right-wing party.

If survival is right-wing, then so are we. If common sense is right-wing, then we are right-wing. If logic, facts and statistics are right-wing, we are too. The Constitution is not purely right-wing and includes its fair share of socialist values.

A law-abiding citizens cannot be fully on the right as they must not break the law, unlike our courts or businessmen or politicians. An honest person should try to live according to the law. They cannot be fully right-wing in that case. Redistribution is also a part of the Constitution, while it serves a purpose there, serves the people, language and culture. It [wealth] can be redistributed according to the law.

Therefore, you are based purely on constitutional values?

Yes, absolutely. I believe that an honest and law-abiding citizen can have no other values than those laid out in the Constitution. But what we can see around us tells us that it is virtually the only place where these values exist.

How active is the party? How often do you meet and take action together?

We are not very active because the ideology we offer is not popular, nor will we force it down people's throats. Besides, there is a more or less similar party in the [national] conservatives. It is difficult to compete with them or hold them back, while it doesn't really make sense to seek a divide. They are hurting the globalist wretches, and should be allowed to continue. We would rather seek cooperation. We have found that even if we do not participate in elections [as a party], our members do in the conservatives' ranks. It seems a more effective course of action.

Have you considered merging with EKRE?

There have been no such considerations.

Will you be participating in the Riigikogu elections?

Perhaps in the future. I am no prophet.

What are you seeking to achieve? What is your goal?

People, language and culture [surviving] throughout the ages. We will have to survive, and it is not easy now or in the near future.

Are you aiming for a specific election result?

I believe that even the biggest fools will learn once times become tough. We cannot rule out the survivors returning to the Constitution after everything else has been tried. It might happen then. After the chaos.

Parempoolsed (Right-wingers) founded their own party, and their leaders have suggested that Estonia is tilting to the left. Any comment?

To be honest, I do not care about what the globalists have to say. It cannot be taken seriously. Globalist ideology is aimed against nation states, which is to say it is aimed against our Constitution, and what a globalist has to say... So what. Whatever they have to say is likely neither serious nor kind but rather a continuance of their globalist agenda, deep state subversion. Let them, if the people stand for it and the institutions fail to intervene. I cannot condemn anyone. I am not the Estonian court. We have the Internal Security Service tasked with taking care of enemies of the state, and there are more than one.

ERR asked EKRE leader Martin Helme to comment on the activities and positions of the Independence Party.

Helme: I see them as a sleeping party

EKRE chairman Martin Helme said that the Independence Party is virtually dormant. "They have the members, but the party has failed to participate in consecutive parliamentary and local elections, which is why I regard it as shelved. I'm not sure to what extent we need address where they have positioned themselves."

Helme described the party's members as less than active. "For some reason, I think a lot of their members do not know they are members or do not care."

He also said that EKRE and the Independence Party have cooperated at local elections. "People cannot run in our ranks if they belong to another party at Riigikogu elections. Sven Sildnik is a member of the Pärnu City Council after running in our list. We have discussed whether he might run for the Riigikogu with us, but the matter has not been decided yet as the membership issue needs to be resolved first."

Helme does not believe it proper to try and get Independence Party members to join EKRE. "I do not treat members as objects. People have their own free will in political organizations and cannot be moved around like pawns."

The EKRE leader ruled out the two parties merging. "We have a solid and strong party that attracts people. We have no reason to merge with any other political force," Helme suggested.

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