The board of Eesti 200 decided to dismiss you from the party. What is your assessment of the picture right now?

In my opinion, the situation is a regrettable one. I am surprised by this leadership style. I would not have acted this way as a leader myself, but this is the reality today. Now we have to look to the future.

Why do you think you were thrown out?

I think it is quite clear why I was expelled. We have had ideological clashes before. My green worldview did not sit well with several members of the party's board, and likely some others.

I entered politics to address climate issues and environmental protection; reducing clear-cutting in Estonian forests is very important to me.

However, there are some influential party members who are opposed to these ideas, while now the nuclear power plant issue, I believe, was the final straw.

I was not permitted to ask questions to the in the Riigikogu's environment committee about the decision to set up a nuclear power plant, and when I dared to criticize this move, the outcome was me being ejected from the party.

Those who dismissed you say the issue was not your views as such, but rather how you communicated them within the party.

I do not understand this, honestly; what it is that I supposedly communicated within the party?

They say that repeatedly attacking the party and damaging its reputation is unacceptable.

I utterly reject this accusation. As an MP, I stood up for the promises made to voters, promises which were written into Eesti 200's election manifesto.

If standing up for those pledges leads to expulsion from the party, then the issue must be more about the party's internal democracy and overall quality of management. I cannot go along with that gentlemen's accusations against me (Izmailova is referring to Taro – ed.).

Do you think this situation could have been avoided, and/or do you believe you could have acted differently?

This has happened time and again, where opinions and positions are silenced, and people have been expelled for such matters before. I believe that if I had kept quiet and not asked questions, I might have been found to be amenable to them.

But since I was not willing to be gagged, and since those values that brought me into politics are crucial to me, it is similarly vital for me to work on these issues in the Riigikogu.

That is why I took the job - to deal with climate issues and forest protection.

If I am not allowed to do my work and if even simply asking questions is jumped upon and silenced, then I do not see how the fault can lie with me, in this case.

Neutral observers reading this interview might immediately have cause to wonder who it was exactly who silenced you or criticized you, within the party.

You can see in the press release who it was that wanted my expulsion. These are the same people who have previously expelled other party members too.

Igor Taro, for example?

Igor Taro is not an Eesti 200 board member, so he could not vote on this. But the board members are listed in the press release: Marek Reinaas, Margus Tsahkna, etc. It's the same cabal.

What happens next? You have not been expelled from the Riigikogu faction yet, and you are still an MP.

I need to think about what happens next. I am not yet sure what the regulations prescribe in this situation. I need to consult with people, and I haven't had the chance to do that yet.

Most likely, I will have to leave the Eesti 200 Riigikogu faction as well. But I will remain an MP, I will go to the office on Monday, and we will see what happens there.

I will continue working on the important issues which matter to me. This episode will not affect that. I have said before that climate and environmental issues are important enough to me that these types of events will not deter me. But I am very sorry that things have turned out this way.

The European Parliament elections are almost here. Who will you be voting for?

That's a great question. I will vote for that candidate who represents a worldview most akin to mine. So I think I need to review the candidate lists again…

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