Prime Minister Kallas' speech on the occasion of the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia in the Capital of Culture Tartu on February 22, 2024 follows below in full.

Dear people of Estonia, dear people of Tartu,

The day after tomorrow (February 24), we will be celebrating the 106th birthday of the Republic of Estonia – our nation that is so small, but so big at the same time. Congratulations to all of us on this special occasion!

This time, I am not only delivering my speech in the university city, the City of Good Ideas, and the Athens of the River Emajõgi. I am also delivering my speech in the most cultural city in Europe this year – the European Capital of Culture 2024! Tartu and its people are the best proof that we always get by even in the most difficult times, as we are great in spirit. Our language and culture have bound us together and preserved us, and the principle of our state which is about to be 106 years old is phrased in the preamble of our Constitution: preservation of the Estonian nation, language, and culture through the ages.

In Estonia, but actually worldwide, we have been witnessing a tendency towards national isolationism in the last few years, which can be characterized by the belief that national prosperity is ensured by the self-centered existence of each nation. I do not believe in that; my unwavering position is that Estonia should never again stand alone, we should never again be without allies, we should never again allow our democratic regime to simply float downstream. That is the only way for preserving our nation, culture, and language. Being the European Capital of Culture is part of our cohesion with Europe, of our place in the western cultural and value space. This value space does not endanger our existence, but fortifies it. We have plenty to show to the world and there is also plenty for us to learn from the world.

Dear friends,

Unfortunately, the world today is far from only consisting of nothing but bright moments. There are many issues, here as well as elsewhere in the world. In the grand scheme of thing, one word can be used to summarize the woes of the entire world – war. The day after tomorrow marks two years since the outbreak of the war. For two years now, the people of Ukraine have been repelling the attacks of their aggressive neighbor – Russia – and defending themselves with extraordinary courage on all fronts. They are defending themselves, as they have seen what happens when the Russians win.

It is clear that dragging on the war serves the Russia's interests. The supporters of Ukraine are experiencing war fatigue; this can be felt and seen among politicians as well as among the people of various countries. It is a bit strange to say that we are tired of this war when we are not the ones fighting. Yet, there is a considerable number of people in all European countries who think that Russia is actually not that bad. Even some Estonian politicians are not making a real effort to hide that they do not actually care about what happens to Ukraine and Ukrainians. Take a look at our votes in the Riigikogu and draw your conclusions.

Every time you hear that our own people are on a shoestring budget while every last cent is given to the Ukrainians, you can be sure that this is not actually about shoestrings or last cents. This is about inciting indifference and anger towards strangers; the point is that it is not our business what happens to Ukraine. I do care about this, though, as does the current government, and as should every single person in Estonia who values our independence.

We all have some conversations, some stories we have read that remain with us for our entire lives. For me, such stories are those told about my grandmother and mother about the deportation of their family and their life in Siberia. Not long ago, another story was added, which I am unlikely to ever forget. Perhaps because I am a mother myself. This is a story about an 8-year-old Ukrainian boy who was keeping a diary in the beginning of the war. The first entry of his diary begins with the words: "War. 3 April. Sunday: I slept well, woke up, smiled, got up, and read a book up to page 25. My grandfather died on the 26th. I have a wound on my back, the skin is torn off, my sister has a head wound, my mother has flesh torn off her hand and a hole in her foot." The last entry in the diary of this 8-year-old child a few months later ends with the following words: "And my two dogs died and my grandmother Galya died, and my dear city of Mariupol has also been dead since 24 February." These are just two sections from the diary of this little boy. No child should ever go through something like this.

Since the beginning of the war, the president of Ukraine has been asking for the help, support, and solidarity of the Western countries – including us. He has not asked us to shed blood or risk our lives. He has asked us to be prepared to give up some of our comforts to help Ukraine and the Ukrainians. The same Ukrainians who have been shedding blood, sweat, and tears for two years to fight for our freedom as well.

Dear listeners,

Our life on this stretch of land by the Baltic Sea has never been easy, but it has also never been better than it is now. Each new year will be even better than the last. This is the meaning of life. In 1997, Lennart Meri summarized this vision of the present and the future in a very simple and very sincere manner: "The situation is shit, but this is fertilizer for our future." It was true then and it is true today. Although the situation then was, of course, much worse.

Today, we are a successful country which is included in NATO and in the European Union, but we have ran into temporary difficulties in an unstable world. We will get over them, though. We have strong and loyal allies and we are also contributing to our defense more than ever before. Compared to 10 years ago, our defense budget is four times bigger this year, whereas the total national budget has only doubled over the same period.

We have an unpleasant neighbor, but we are working with determination to make sure that it never dares to trouble us. We know exactly what must be done and we are doing it. Even when some tax increases seem especially unpleasant to you, let the knowledge that the majority of the tax income is invested in the security of our country console you. Be it in the form of investments in direct defense spending, energy security, or even the transition to Estonian-language education. We are doing a lot of things that should have been done a long time ago and delaying them now would simply be irresponsible.

Dear friends,

As we already touched on the issue of increasing taxes, I would also like to tell you a bit more about it. When I was delivering a speech to you here last year, the parliamentary elections were imminent. I would like to cite a section from my speech last year:

"... it is no secret that the economies of all developed countries have been affected by this war. Including that of Estonia. There is nothing positive about the increase in energy prices and the resulting high inflation. There is also nothing positive about the fact that our budget is in deficit and the debt burden of the state is growing. We have been forced to borrow money both to repay old debts and to invest in defense spending. That is the price of our freedom.

It is clear that a state budget deficit is not sustainable and we must aim to return to a balanced budget policy.

We have to balance the revenues and expenditures of our country again. Low debt is our competitive advantage, not a disadvantage to get rid of."

Those were my words one year ago shortly before the elections. Unfortunately, all microphones seemed to be switched off at that moment and no one heard my message about our state budget being in deficit and our need to return to the policy of a balanced budget. By the way, this was far from the only occasion when I brought this up before the elections, but the microphones were somehow never on. How else could we explain the storm of outrage which broke out against the budget policy of the new coalition after the elections. All of us were accused of having lied before the elections, I especially, as we had not talked about which taxes we intended to increase. I and the rest of us could also be accused of not talking about cutting the state budget expenditure. Yet, when I am talking about moving towards a balanced budget, what else could I mean if not increasing taxes, cutting the budget, or a combination of the two. I could only read out an exact list of all changes in the taxes and all cuts if the party had any hope of forming the government on our own. I can tell you honestly, I did not have such hopes.

The elections took place on March 5 and this is when the mathematical options for forming potential coalitions became clear. On this occasion, the voters decided that the government should be formed by the Reform Party, Eesti 200, and the Social Democrats. After this, we had to start looking for a compromise to solve a problem which was unambiguously seen by the coalition – the financial situation of our country was poor and the national defense required more money.

As I already admitted, I could not suggest exact possibilities for increasing taxes or making cuts before the elections. At this point, I would like to read out a section from our Constitution. Section 106 of the Constitution establishes the following:

"Issues regarding the budget, taxation, or financial obligations of the state cannot be submitted to a referendum. The commented edition states the following about the need for this provision: the main reason is the need to prevent the fatal impacts of populism and the current moods of the people or temporary difficulties."

As a rule, no one likes tax increases. On the other hand, all or almost all of us like having our own country. The point of our own independent country is to do together the things that could not be done by each of us separately. We need to collect taxes to pay for the things we do together. There is no anonymous benefactor paying for the expenses of the state. This applies to the expenses on national defense, social protection, the wages of teachers, and benefits. We also have to remember that the government cannot solve any crisis alone. We can only do this together, by coming together and living frugally. The state alone cannot shoulder all the responsibility. We are all, every person and every business, responsible for our own survival. We are our own country, there is no other Estonia anywhere else.

Our small Estonia is faced with challenges which have arisen due to the actions of our aggressive neighbor. This war will not end tomorrow – the problems arising from it will probably continue to trouble us for quite a while. Yet, we know from our experience that any crisis also means new opportunities for those who are quick and smart. We have demonstrated our ability to embrace and lead rapid change. The current crisis has highlighted major shortcomings in defense industries around the world.

The faith in eternal peace has lulled many countries and businesses that believed after the end of the Cold War that this was the end of history. Awakening from this slumber has given rise to a rapidly increasing need for smart weapon systems. This could be a great opportunity for Estonia to yet again demonstrate its capability.

Drones, smart munitions, unmanned combat vehicles – these are just a few examples of the weapons we are well placed to successfully produce. We have the capacity to make quick policy decisions, we have entrepreneurial people and a smart workforce. A number of large international defense companies have recently shown interest in investing in Estonia. This could also provide an important boost for our next economic development leap. A businessman has recently said that us Estonians "whine ourselves poor." Let us do the opposite now and work hard to become rich!

Dear compatriots,

As at today, I have served as the prime minister for 3 years and 27 days. In this entire period, Estonia and actually the whole world has gone from one crisis to another. There has not been a single day when I would have been able to wake up knowing that the crises were over. I am not saying this seeking for compassion, but rather feeling for all of us. The first crisis actually began a year before I became the prime minister, so we have been living in a permanent crisis for four years already. COVID, the energy crisis, the war, inflation, and the economic crisis have come one after another, amplifying one another, and the end is not yet in sight.

We also have a less-discussed local crisis, which actually has a stronger impact on all of us than we can imagine. It is the crisis of our parliamentary system. It began with the parliamentary elections last year, the results of which the losers have not wished to acknowledge for various reasons. Instead of respecting the will of the voters, the opposition parties started to hamper the work of the legislator from the first day when the Riigikogu assembled.

There is a polite term for this in politics – obstruction – but what is going on in the Parliament could actually be referred to as throwing a tantrum. The outcome – the Riigikogu has been almost at a complete standstill. The Parliament cannot initiate any bills, as they are all drowned under a massive flow of amendment proposals. Thus, initiating legislation has basically fully fallen on the shoulders of the government, whose only way out is its constitutional right to bind the bills to the issue of confidence.

However, the president does not tolerate frequent use of the above. There are still twenty-some draft laws paused in the Riigikogu waiting for the second reading, to which the opposition has submitted 3,000 meaningless amendment proposals, in total.

It would take 7–8 months to vote on all of the proposals in the context of obstruction. One of the bills put on hold concerns Russian assets, for example, and the entry into force of this act would allow us to use the assets of the aggressor to rebuild Ukraine.

We are in a situation in which the opposition demands that their policy should be implemented even though they lost the elections, or if not, new elections should be held. There is a high risk that if no reasonable solution is found to this situation, there will be a sequence of extraordinary elections, the outcomes of which will not change anything. Meanwhile, the people will be increasingly alienated from democracy, as it looks like nothing ever gets done this way. If autocracy appears to be a better form of governance, there will eventually be someone who will be governing like this. This has never ended well, though.

Unfortunately, the development towards liberal democracy, which gained massive momentum when the walls fell 35 years ago, has suffered a serious setback globally and in Europe in the last few years. This regression makes the world less secure. Democratic countries do not use military measures to solve their differences. This knowledge alone should provide a sufficient reason for all of us to never repeat the mistakes made by our politicians in the 1930s.

Dear listeners,

I am asked quite frequently why I am involved with politics and how I cope with it. Reverting to dark humor, I could cite the last verse of a poem by Juhan Viiding. It goes like this:

"Hold on for those another dozen winters

let die the very remnants of your soul.

And when you leave for good there in the end,

your only, life-long ask, your final whimper

we'll let fade into nothing as a whole."

It will hopefully not be that bad and no one needs to worry about me lasting for "another dozen winters" as the prime minister, but the questions of "why" and "how long" do spring up every once in a while. I am proud and grateful about having been able to work as the prime minister in this difficult period full of crises. Sometimes I have done better, sometimes poorer. Just like any one of us. The history will tell what every prime minister will be remembered by. The one thing that sets me apart from my predecessors is that I am the first female prime minister of Estonia. I often ask myself if rising to the top in politics is healthy for a woman.

Even in one hit film last year, the following was said about women:

"It is literally impossible to be a woman. We have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. Always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault."

Yet, more than half of the population of Estonia consists of women. It would simply be foolish for the society not to use the potential of women. Those societies where women feel comfortable are wealthier and happier, as the welfare of our children also depends on this. Listening to the voice of women results in a more equal society which is better for everyone to live in.

The times call us all, especially politicians, to act bravely and decisively. Only words are not enough now – we have to act. Any one of us can make mistakes, and we all have. Yet, I believe that it is better to make mistakes than to ensure that no mistakes are made by not doing anything. I also have moments when I have doubts and hesitations. However, I believe that I as the prime minister do not have the right to hope that problems will simply disappear if I ignore them. They do not disappear – they will grow and become even more difficult and more expensive to solve.

We are probably all familiar with the beginning of the following monologue by Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or not to be?" Only few have read the entire monologue, which is actually about anxiety over decision-making. It ends as follows:

"Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought."

I am sincerely grateful for the three years and 27 days I have been given to serve Estonia as prime minister. I do not know how much longer I can hold on in this position, but I promise you that all of my decisions, every step I have made, has been carried by the wish to make Estonia a better, more prosperous and safer country. And I also promise you that my future actions will also be based on these considerations – a better, wealthier, and more secure Estonia.

Congratulations to all of us and I wish us all endurance, decisiveness, and willingness to defend for the 106th birthday of the Republic of Estonia. Long live Estonia!

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