This time, the interview began with a chapter that is both recent and painful — Andrus Ansip's son-in-law suffered a serious health issue, prompting the former prime minister to step into the role of a full-time grandfather.

The 68-year-old father of three and now eight-time grandfather is visibly in good shape. Having stepped away from politics a year ago and officially retired, the former prime minister now spends his days tending to spring gardening tasks, the fruits of which he proudly showed off at his home in Tartu to "Pealtnägija." When asked whether he's ever regretted retiring, the veteran politician responded without hesitation: not for a moment.

"There's still a bit of an itch, of course, but at a certain point I just had enough of shuttling back and forth between Tartu and Brussels or Tartu and Strasbourg. When you're traveling 4,000 kilometers every weekend, one day you realize there's more — better things in life — than just sitting in a plane or car," he said.

What has filled that space in his life now is his grandchildren. "The epiphany actually came through a grandchild — at the time my youngest grandchild, Astrid. You come home and she runs up to you, asking for 'up, up,' and... well, one day you realize you don't even want to leave home anymore," Ansip reflected.

"Yes, when I decided not to run again, I said I just wanted to be a grandfather. But I never imagined that being a grandfather would take on the scale it has in real life. I've had the chance to be a grandfather, and I believe I've been a useful one too."

His increased role came after the father of his youngest grandchildren was hospitalized in Tartu for a prolonged period in a life-threatening condition. "Naturally, my daughter moved to Tartu with her children and had to split herself between the hospital and her kids. That's when I had to step up in a way I never expected — helping to care for the grandchildren."

The son-in-law's illness turned the Ansip family's life upside down. For about half a year, the former prime minister essentially became a father figure to little Astrid and even younger August, making him a familiar face to many young parents in Tartu's Tammelinn district.

"An hour-long walk at 10 a.m., then another walk from 1 to 3 p.m. with both kids, and again from 4 to 5 p.m. with the youngest — physically, it guaranteed me 20,000 steps a day. And of course, bedtime — reading not just one bedtime story but whole books. In the Year of the Book, it was a very fitting activity," Ansip said.

Though the worst is now behind them and his son-in-law is recovering at home, the experience made Ansip reflect more deeply on the value of life.

Over the past year, Ansip has been organizing his home archives, donating historically valuable items to museums and in May will publish his memoir "Lastelastele" ("For the Grandchildren"), in which he candidly shares key turning points in his career, as well as his childhood and growing up without a father. He names his grandfather August as his greatest role model. Sadly, Ansip's teenage years were also marked by the traumatic moment when, at age 16, he found his grandfather hanged in their home.

"In those kinds of situations, I think it's a natural reaction to ask what we did wrong that made him decide that. Were we not good enough, not caring enough? You can't be selfish and see such events only through your own lens. You have to try to understand those who make such a profound decision," Ansip reflected.

Ansip graduated from Tartu 5th High School and studied chemistry at Tartu State University. It was during his university years that he met his future wife, Anu.

"We met when we were students. She was studying medicine and was in the same group as one of my classmates, who sat directly behind me and introduced us. It was almost love at first sight — you could tell something would come of it," Ansip recalled.

As a newlywed in the mid-1980s, he rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, eventually heading the industrial department of the Tartu district committee. Following Estonia's re-independence, he entered the business world as a catering entrepreneur with Alexander Kofkin's company Estkompexim, remembered for its Western-style bistros and Pingviin ice cream. Ansip was among the founding members of the Reform Party, but his early political career was interrupted before it truly began when, in 1996, he suffered a serious cycling accident.

After recovering from the accident, Ansip didn't just get back on his feet — by 1998, he had become mayor of Tartu. Around the same time, his close friend and business partner Neinar Seli rose to prominence in the business world, fueling media speculation that some of Seli's assets might actually belong to Ansip.

"Oh no, don't go down that road," Ansip deflected when "Pealtnägija" raised the topic of offshore companies. "Those 'crimes' are long since past their statute of limitations; we can talk about them freely. I have never placed anything in any offshore company. I've never even had one," he asserted.

From his position as mayor of Tartu, Ansip rose to become minister of economic affairs and eventually prime minister. He held that office longer than any other leader in Estonia's post-independence history. His tenure included the global financial crisis and the adoption of the euro. Over a record-setting nine years, he became known for his conservative fiscal policies and bold promises — such as making Estonia one of Europe's five richest countries within 15 years, a goal still unmet, and relocating the Bronze Soldier, which triggered mass unrest in 2007.

Ansip claims he never felt fear during the April riots. "When you're in the middle of a crisis and you're the one who has to find the solution, I think people — including myself — become more rational. Sentences become short. There's no more lengthy debate — just action," he explained, offering his approach to handling crises.

He still remembers vividly the press release he personally drafted on the Bronze Soldier's relocation, as well as the dollhouse he built in the yard for his daughter Liisa — used by Defense League guards protecting the prime minister during the unrest.

He considers the most difficult period of his premiership to be the time after the statue's relocation. "When people started saying Estonia was in its worst crisis since World War II... and I said that if this is a crisis and a crash, then this is the only kind of crisis I ever want to live through." Some people were furious at the remark; others thought the prime minister had lost touch with reality.

Another scandal erupted in 2012 when Reform Party politician Silver Meikar wrote in Postimees that he had donated money to the party in cash envelopes at the suggestion of then-secretary general Kristen Michal, without knowing the source of the funds. The revelation caused an unprecedented political crisis that directly undermined Ansip's position.

Ansip denied claims that then-President Toomas Hendrik Ilves gave him an ultimatum to either remove Kristen Michal or step down alongside him.

"There was no such meeting where any demand was made for the prime minister to dismiss anyone. And if the sitting president had made such a demand, my clear response would have been: I'm sorry, Mr. President, that's not within your authority," Ansip said.

Following his remarkable political career, Ansip now plans to simply be a grandfather — and he has no intention of returning to politics.

"Oh, that's absolutely out of the question. No, I have no plans whatsoever to return to politics. But as I've said before, if I see something is wrong — or something is very right — I won't keep it to myself. I'll still speak up, and I have done so," Ansip said.

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