There is still time for Reform Party members to declare whether or not they want to run in the European elections, i.e., engage in the internal election process. Have you decided if you will run in the European elections?

If you ask me how I feel right now, the answer is yes. Yes, I am prepared to run as a candidate in the European elections, and the letter just fueled my enthusiasm. But I haven't made a definitive decision since I'm used to going where I'm supposed to go in life, and I'm not forcing my way in.

However, the members of the Reform Party will ultimately make this decision and choice during the party's internal elections.

Have you also talked to your supporters and competitors to see if you would be successful in the internal elections to get on the list?

It is already in the hands of the voters and up to them. I don't think it's right for someone else, like the leader of a political party, to make this decision for them. I think the voters should be able to decide for themselves.

If you decide to apply, what is the process like? Do you have to go to the regions to present your views?

It will certainly mean meetings with members of your own party. But first, a member of a political party who wants to run must submit a petition, accompanied by the signatures of 10 supporters. Usually more than 10 are collected, but this is not a special indicator.

The next week is the internal election, where all party members can vote electronically. And once the nine who will make it on the list are identified, the committee starts working. The executive can make some changes; the list will not be exactly as the voters decided, as they will also try to make the list more attractive by changing the order.

The list with the revised rankings is then presented to the party's executive committee, which may make additional changes. And after the convention approves the list, it is done.

Does it make a difference to you whether you are at the top of the list or at the bottom? Does it make a difference at all later on in the nomination process?

Basically, it matters how many people are on the list, because the general statistics are that the person who gets the most votes is the person who campaigns the hardest. But the second or third numbers get usually same votes as the last candidate on the list.

But what do you believe you need to do to be in that position in the eyes of the list committee, since running is pointless if you don't get the most votes?

If I end up on the list as one of the nine, then the actual place on the list doesn't mean much to me anymore.

Recently, there have been quite strong indications in ALDE that Kaja Kallas could be the ALDE frontrunner. What would this mean for Kaja Kallas and for Estonia? How important is this offer?

This is certainly not a direct offer now, as applications are open to absolutely anyone until February 29. And no one has the power to make some kind of miraculous offer.

Many in ALDE believe that after the Spitzenkandidat of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, was rejected by the Council and did not become President of the European Commission, and Ursula von der Leyen, who was not a Spitzenkandidat, became president, the Spitzenkandidat system has gone up in smoke. But you certainly cannot become president of the Council without having been prime minister.

This is the seat that the Social Democrats are currently vying for, and we don't know who will end up there. But if Nicolas Schmit, the current commissioner from Luxembourg, is put forward as the frontrunner, he has little chance of replacing Charles Michel, the president of the Council.

The thing about a high representative for foreign affairs is that he or she usually comes from a big country. On the three occasions it has been appointed, nobody could guess the names. They were never top candidates. They come from the big countries, where the countries that really understand how the world works are the ones that have embassies all over the world, and the smaller ones don't know much about it.

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