European Parliament elections have come off almost as a mock election next to general or local ones in Estonia. Voter turnout has clearly been lower than during national elections for obvious reasons. The seven Euro dwarves to be sent to Brussels from Estonia make up just 1 percent of the 705-member body.

While European Parliament election lists are crowned by the heavy cavalry of Estonian politics, those who come after the frontrunners are often from parties' second or third echelons. At the 2019 European elections, political struggle was mostly seeming as the polls predicted the results with 100 percent accuracy.

It has been suggested that this time excitement in terms of the persons to be elected and the distribution of mandates will last all the way to election day. The reason is not just the newfound dynamism of Estonian party politics. European election debates also cover much more relevant topics compared to 2019. The coronavirus crisis, the green transition materializing and the EU morphing into a security union on top of an economic one have brought Estonian and European political priorities closer together. European affairs are closer to Estonians' hearts than ever before.

More colorful campaign tricks than previously are also cause for jubilation. European elections' more modest campaign budgets force candidates to be creative. It is also safer to take risks as politicians have less at stake at these elections. More so as such friskiness has helped an independent candidate hit the European elections jackpot once before. I'm sure many still remember how Indrek Tarand took a quarter of the vote by campaigning against closed party candidate lists.

While no such success is in store for independents at these elections, the playfulness of party campaigns has already exceed that of Tarand's legendary run in 2009. Eesti 200, after long suffering in the polls and succeeding to convince Tarand to throw in with them, used Estonia's Eurovision entry at its hugely expensive campaign kickoff event without permission from the authors.

Eesti 200 frontrunner and Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna's earlier decision to have the ministry pay for an influencer to accompany him on a visit to India paled in comparison to the minister recently taking to the barricades during protests in Tbilisi. For a few moments, the Georgian people's historical protest was turned into an Eesti 200 campaign event. Indeed such actions could impress those who believe in an individual's ability to change the course of history, while even controversial initiatives benefit the diversity of Estonian democracy.

Still, looking at recent forecasts, the foreign minister risks losing to pro-Russia candidate Aivo Peterson who is currently in jail on suspicions of treason.

But Peterson's candidacy also works to enrich Estonian democracy. Prisoner for life Romeo Kalda tried to run in the 2019 European election, but was not allowed because he had been punished. Peterson, who has not yet been handed a punishment, will likely not secure a mandate, while his result might dash some of the Center Party's hopes.

But Eesti 200 and Peterson's Koos party are not the only ones trying to stand out at these elections. For example, Social Democrat Marina Kaljurand, being by far the most popular candidate, announced that she does not believe in election campaigns. Independent Kalle Grünthal decided to hire a bodyguard for the duration of the campaign, while the Conservative People's Party's (EKRE) Jaak Madison has been basking in the unsolicited attention brought by his Brussels scandal.

The flag of crafty politicians bringing up the rears of election lists is kept high by the Reform Party's Hanno Pevkur whose Facebook profile picture, properly decked out for the Euro elections, can be seen in a group of those interested in purchasing real estate in Spain. A quick look at the social network reveals that Estonia's defense minister joined those looking to buy real estate in the Alicante region in Southern Spain four months ago. A cursory check revealed that we're not dealing with a fake account.

It is likely that the fear of war has seen the group attract other Estonian members recently. Politicians need to be where their voters are, and as long as the money the defense minister is planning to spend is transparently his own, there's nothing to complain about. The English caption of the defense minister's Facebook profile "Life is about choices, You just have to make the right ones!" is an excellent fit for both political and real estate aficionados.

Those who have previously ignored European Parliament elections would do well to vote this time for three reasons.

Because we are seeing real political struggle for the first time in a long while, because the elections are a little merrier this time around and because Brussels topics now hit close to home for Estonians. Brussels is finally becoming an organic part of Estonian political geography.

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