Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur stated on the radio show Vikerhommik on Monday that if Kaja Kallas were to take a job with the European Commission, he would be willing to run for chairman of the Reform Party.

However, Reform Party members who do not support Pevkur's candidacy are discussing the possibility of Minister of Climate Kristen Michal leading the party instead.

Hanno Pevkur has already led the party once. He was elected chairman of the Reform Party at the beginning of 2017 with more than 1,000 votes, while his opponent Kristen Michal received over 600 votes. Pevkur's term lasted a year and three months.

According to Liina Kersna, the party was disappointed with Pevkur's leadership style at that time.

"When we look at the most recent elections for the Reform Party board, both Kristen Michal and Hanno Pevkur received relatively similar vote counts, with Kristen Michal getting slightly more. However, Hanno Pevkur was once elected leader of the Reform Party. He held the position for a very short time, and it must be acknowledged that his tenure was short because party members were disappointed with his leadership style," Kersna said.

Vilja Toomast also pointed to issues in Pevkur's leadership.

"In my opinion, he didn't handle it well. After his leadership, the party had significant debts. If he is wise and thinks about how he led the party last time, he won't make that choice again," Toomast said.

Toomast also criticized Pevkur regarding defense funding and the resignation of Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm.

In an opinion piece published in Delfi on Sunday, Pevkur linked the Reform Party leadership position with the scandal surrounding Salm's resignation. "Now the substantive debate on defense funding has been successfully hitched to the wagon of my political assassination to reduce competition in the next Reform Party leadership elections," Pevkur wrote.

Vilja Toomast said she doesn't believe Michal has started campaigning for the position. "So, you mean to say that Kristen Michal has started campaigning for himself? I don't believe that either," she said.

Both Toomast and Kersna confirmed they had not heard Michal explicitly state his desire to become the Reform Party leader, but Kersna expressed her support for Michal.

"In the current political situation, Kristen Michal would definitely be a good party leader, and I really hope that if the time comes, he will be ready to put forward his candidacy," Kersna noted. "He can express himself clearly, he has clear positions, and I know he has strong support within the party. I really hope he agrees to run," said Kersna.

ERR asked Toomast about her view on Michal's past scandal involving party funding.

"It wasn't an internal party scandal. If you say that party members might not support him because of that, I don't understand it. It was just a public scandal, and it is so old and forgotten," Toomast said.

"I wasn't in the party then, and I don't know what really happened. In my opinion, it's a bit ridiculous – just like the accusations against Siim Kallas. Now it's the white sweater and the plastic bag – I think Estonian politics should have developed enough to move past such things," Toomast concluded.

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