Tõugu, 25, told news portal Delfi that: "The Social Democrats have been doing a great job in Tallinn in defending environmental and climate goals. For this reason, I believe that I have a good chance to develop these interests with the new team."

SDE has been in coalition in Tallinn with the Center Party since late 2021.

Tõugu was appointed a City of Tallinn environment and climate adviser just days before joining SDE.

Of her previous party, which lost a former leader, Züleyxa Izmailova, to Eesti 200 in early 2022, Tõugu said that while she has "enormous respect" for the party's values, "after careful consideration, I believe that I can implement my vision of a better society more effectively from the SDE platform."

Tõugu was party co-chair 2022-2023, together with Marko Kaasik, and remained a board member until leaving the party.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!