Margus Tsahkna, will the election be a moment of truth for you in terms of whether Eesti 200 will take up residence in the museum of Estonian political history, next to the Free Party, People's Union and all the others? Or do you believe you'll stay in the saddle this time?

Margus Tsahkna: It will not be our watershed moment. The 2027 Riigikogu elections matter more as the political promises we've made will be maturing by then and the people will get to decide. We've said from the first that European elections are not a matter of life or death for us.

But it's important to contribute to the right messages. We have a full list of candidates, are shaping public opinion and we'll see where it will get us. But the result will not be of dramatic significance for the party. The important thing is for people to come out to vote as the incoming European Parliament will shape very important, even existential questions for Europe. We've done our part and will be hoping for a good result.

Looking at the polls, many seem to feel that current MEPs could stay on. We would like to effect a little change. We have good candidates in myself and others with the necessary experience. Still, the result is not paramount for us.

Do you reject comparisons with Res Publica for which European elections proved the first major setback?

Tsahkna: The two do not compare. Res Publica was the prime minister's party and I still remember their campaign. Their hugely expensive campaign "More Sexy Men" mainly worked against itself, nor have such campaigns worked anywhere. Res Publica went into the election with high ambitions, saying they'd get several mandates, while their fall was brutal. We understand the situation today, and we'll count our chickens in 2027.

The most popular party ahead of the election is the Social Democratic Party (SDE), which is a full member of the current government. The Reform Party's chances aren't half bad either, while yours are nothing to write home about. Are you going in just to lose?

Tsahkna: We're not participating just to lose, but we're facing reality. Had the plan been to lose, we would have said that it makes no sense to take part. I believe that voters will determine the result come election day. I wouldn't be too surprised if Eesti 200 managed to land a mandate. It was the Social Democrats' good fortune that Center fell apart on the left wing, which is where support for them is coming from.

It is difficult for Eesti 200 because expectations are always high for new parties. The circumstances are not ideal. The government has been all over the place. We'll look to action and will be judged in 2027. European elections are a different case.

Indrek Tarand, we do not really know how your and Eesti 200's paths crossed. Did you call people at the party or did they call you?

Indrek Tarand: It's like transfer windows in football. Cristiano Ronaldo is to football what I am to Estonian politics – a superstar. It makes no differences whether he plays for Madrid, Milano, Munich or Amsterdam. The offer came from Manchester in this case. The [party's] program was positive and Euro-optimistic. I also liked Kristina Kallas' actions as education minister when she tried to get things done during the teachers' strike.

I dismissed the Social Democrats right away. But if your question is who called first, while I didn't, I am glad that I was contacted. It was Marek Reinaas who called me.

Did you get any other calls, seeing as you're Cristiano Ronaldo? There are many football clubs in Europe and many political parties in Estonia. I would not have been surprised to see you in the Greens or Center's list either.

Tarand: I went with the Social Democrats last time, when [Jevgeni] Ossinovski was losing his grip on the party. I helped them and the result was that Sven Mikser got 17 more votes. The result is that Estonia now has one more poor novel. (MP Sven Mikser wrote a novel while serving as MEP – ed.)

Do those 17 extra votes still bother you?

Tarand: Of course. When you're tripped up by members of your own team. They got the apparatus to vote for Mikser. He would never have gotten 17 more votes otherwise. The result – one crappy novel. The voter can be sure that I will not write a poor novel. I will write a good one should I ever decide to do it. There's work to be done at the European Parliament, instead of sitting around writing novels.

You said you picked Eesti 200 because Kristina Kallas has stood up for teachers. It's quite likely that Kristina Kallas will have to resign this fall for failure to keep promises made to teachers.

Tarand: The outstanding promise was not made by Kristina Kallas but a number of other politicians. I understand politicians who resign from the government. It is a peculiarity of coalition governments that some ministers understand the nature of problems, while others only look at ratings.

Tsahkna: Allow me to clarify. It remains to be seen what Kristina Kallas and Eesti 200 will achieve in education. Late last year, it was said that local governments will never sit down with teachers. So it doesn't pay to throw around slogans if you're not up to speed on developments. Most, over 50 local governments are behind the negotiating table and have agreements in place. No point in labeling.

Labeling? The main partner [Tallinn] walked away.

Tsahkna: You said, as a journalist, that Kallas will resign come fall because nothing can be done. That is simply not true. Teachers' salary talks are only beginning. No sense sticking labels on things. We could even say that no education minister has undertaken such extensive reforms in years. The government will be discussing raising the compulsory school attendance age and other matters tomorrow.

Looking at polls, your candidates include several people who are known for providing Ukraine war and Russia analysis, such as Kalev Stoicescu and Igor Taro. Why aren't they trending at the level one would expect?

Tsahkna: We'll see how they'll do come elections. Polls differ. Looking at the figures, some candidates are doing well, while others, also from other parties, only have ratings of 0.5-5 percent. Perhaps European elections do not excite Estonian voters. People are used to the incumbents getting reelected. Their ratings are higher. Perhaps only a few newcomers, like Jüri Ratas, will get enough votes.

Tarand: People in Estonia mistakenly believe that the European Parliament is about foreign policy. The Foreign Affairs Committee has no legislative initiative whatsoever. It is fun to discuss various foreign policy issues, while there's no legislative output. I chose the Budgets and and Budgetary Control committees. Ivari Padar eventually landed Agriculture and Rural Development. Considering that the European Parliament will be looking to the new financial perspective, I'm the only candidate with experience with budgets. I've even served as rapporteur, which is rare for such a small country and political group. The results will become clear on election day.

As concerns the polls, Äripäev tells us that there are those who manipulate the results. That is also why it is prohibited to publish polls immediately before elections in Italy. I will reveal on Friday what my study found and it will shock more than a few experts. The study uses a different model and imitates the elections situation quite accurately. A third of voters haven't decided yet. These European elections are far-away for Estonian voters.

Tsahkna: It is up to us to explain. This composition of the European Parliament will perhaps be the most important one in the history of the European Union as concerns security policy, foreign policy as existential matters. I hope that it will not have to be a wartime composition, that we will be able to prevent it and help Ukraine. There are also economic and green topics, industry and artificial intelligence. It is crucial and also shapes life and business here. This fact is not sufficiently recognized.

I completely agree. Allow me to read out a passage from Margus Tsahkna's election congress speech. "Eesti 200 is a party with a long plan. We have a long plan for Estonia and for Europe. Our program rests on three pillars: pro-Estonianness, innovation and liberalism." And yet you want to join the conservative European People's Party (EPP) group.

Tsahkna: I'm well aware of what happens at the EPP. It surely has its more conservative wing, while the Nordics' moderates are also members, and it has its liberal, patriotic and progressive camps. Our program is that of Eesti 200 and not the European People's Party, while we have the most in common with the latter. It covers innovation, Estonianness and liberalism. Many conservative parties in Europe have brought change in terms of personal freedoms. For example, Angela Merkel's CDU, which was among the leading forces in the EPP, introduced marriage equality in Germany. Therefore, it is a highly logical choice.

Does that mean you're rooting for Isamaa candidates to have more liberal delegates in the EPP, instead of the Social Democrats, Reform or Center?

Tsahkna: We are not rooting for Isamaa as they rather represent the more conservative and backward side. The EPP is much more than that. While the liberals may seem like the Reform Party in Estonia, they are a lot more socialist in truth, while the European Socialists have taken to green extremism and the European Greens are several orders of magnitude beyond that.

Our choice is logical and not primitive. The EPP is largely in charge of practicable green transition.

Indrek Tarand, are you willing to join the European People's Party group?

Tarand: Almost all groups would welcome me because I'm well-known there.

Once the mandates are in, experienced MEPs will go in for what some like to refer to as horse trading. Delegates from small countries are sought-after in order to secure group majority based on which committee places, positions, speaking time, reports etc. are distributed.

As Gen. [Riho] Terras said, while everyone knew he was a general, he still had to spend five years as an errand boy. He would be in with a chance this time, while it's still a small chance.

Once more. Would you join the EPP group?

Tarand: People will see which group I'll join if I'm elected. Working with Eesti 200, I will consider what members of the party have come up with after giving the matter more thought. Margus Tsahkna was involved with EPP when he was still a member of Isamaa. He has prior experience and wouldn't have to serve as an errand boy for five years.

Tsahkna: Eesti 200 is not a member of any European party yet. The liberals and some others have taken an interest. It is something we're still discussing.

In other words, voters won't have to be afraid that Tarand or Tsahkna will be sitting next to Riho Terras in the European Parliament?

Tarand: We're realists and will not be getting two mandates. If Tsahkna is elected, I will become foreign minister. If I'm elected, Tsahkna will continue as foreign minister.

You would have to join Eesti 200 for that.

Tarand: I would not.

I tuned in to a televised election debate yesterday, and Margus Tsahkna, you promised to deliver major investments, including a microchip plant. How?

Tsahkna: It's underway. We are talking about Ida-Viru County as a region willing to tolerate industry. Major investments have not happened in Estonia because of the NIMBY mentality, but they are still possible in Ida-Viru County. Secondly, the European Commission is interested in independence from China and Taiwan, for example, as concerns microchips. It is the government's strategy to utilize rare earth metals in an environmentally sparing way in Ida-Viru County. There is major interest from the European Commission, while Estonia has also joined the U.S.-led rare earths coalition to bring high-level and competitive industry here.

One example of this is a Canadian company that invested €100 million in a rare earths magnet factory in Ida-Viru. The European Commission added €20 million. There is international interest in this thing.

When will the microchip factory be opened? What year are we talking about?

We need an open debate in the Riigikogu on resource use. I'm talking about a decade's perspective, while the investment decision could be made inside five or six years. It depends on a national decision of whether to go down this path or not.

Tarand: It will get a green light provided I'll be on the environment committee.

Things are clear with Indrek Tarand who will definitely be joining the European Parliament if elected. Margus Tsahkna, will you also definitely go?

Tsahkna: All our candidates have agreed that those who get elected will go to Europe.

Will you also quit as party leader?

Tsahkna: The party can find a new leader. But you cannot run a party as a member of the European Parliament in the long run, especially in a coalition government.

I read your program and it states that you'll solve the unanimity question in such a way that allows frozen Russian assets and the Ukraine war to be treated separately. How will that work?

Tsahkna: We cannot go along with dropping the consensus principle in security and foreign policy as it is a dangerous path for a small country to walk. As concerns taking away the right to vote on certain matters, it is not necessary to change the treaties or regulations for that. All it takes is political will. We do not want to go after the EU treaties to abolish unanimity because Estonia stands to lose a lot.

Tarand: I understand Margus, but I also understand Urmas Paet and Marina Kaljurand. Their positions are those of their elections programs and aimed at the average voter. I see myself not as such. I am not responsible for running a party, which is why I can afford to take a look beyond the horizon. When I wrote a decade ago that the NATO aspect of Europe's defenses needed to be reinforced, people laughed. Today, those people are repeating what I said ten years ago. I disagree today in that not only security and foreign policy should be switched to qualified majority voting. Because the EU is expanding, while the current treaty only reflects an EU with 12 or 15 members.

Let us also talk of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) potentially taking a commissioner's posting. Will it disrupt the government? Are you willing to wait until August?

Tsahkna: This matter is casting a shadow on our activities as we're not just talking about any other minister here. If the prime minister takes another job, the government will resign and coalition talks will have to start anew. The faster we'll know, the better.

And if she decides not to go?

Tsahkna: The current coalition agreement gives the European Commission post to the Reform Party, but the x-factor is always considerable in politics. Should the government fall apart because of Kallas' resignation, who knows how it'll be in the future. It is also something that Kaja needs to keep in mind. But these are Reform Party games and Kaja Kallas' decision.

Where will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be cutting back in light of yesterday's decision (for the government sector to cut costs across the board – ed.)?

Tsahkna: We cut around 5 percent last year, as concerns jobs. But mostly it will be staff expenses, operational expenses and our foundation (Estonian Center for International Development – ed.) as concerns some funds earmarked for Ukraine projects. We will not be liquidating the foundation at this time, while we will take a hard look at how to make it effective. There is room for improvement.

Tarand: Development cooperation is necessary, that much is clear. But I'll answer the question of what the EU will be cutting. Instead of middling and foolish commissioners, we need fewer of them and more European efficiency policy.

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