The purpose and vision of EKRE was that “Estonia is here also in a hundred or a thousand years,” Helme said, adding that for this reason the party had been under pressure and under attack, just like “all supporters of sovereignty in Europe.”

The Estonian people would never give up without a fight, Helme said, but the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) did not want to fight, and neither did the Reform Party and the Center Party. “And let’s better not talk about the Social Democrats at all.” There was but one party that stands up for the Estonian people, and that party was EKRE, the chairman said.

Helme also promised the party that it would run a strong campaign for this year’s upcoming local elections. Based on this, the next parliamentary elections could then be tackled with even greater force.

In his vision of how the country should really be run, Helme outlined a different approach to economic affairs, saying that beyond talking about investment and the necessary resources in the labor market, nobody was really talking about the possibility of a “nationalist economy”, one that would draw on the innovativeness and the creative resources of the Estonian people, and do so in such a way that the environment wouldn’t be polluted, but added value created.

Though the way the party is run was likely not going to change, topics such as the nationalist economy would be added to its platform, Helme said.

Next to Mart Helme as chairman, MPs Martin Helme, Jaak Madison, and Henn Põlluaas were elected as deputy chairmen at the congress.

New referendum on EU membership

EKRE’s congress also adopted a declaration calling for a new referendum on Estonia’s membership in the European Union. Among other things, it also calls for the preservation of “Estonianness”, the development of the state and people, and guaranteeing the well-being of the indigenous population.

According to the declaration, developments in the EU are putting Estonia’s “national survival” in danger. The European Commission was undemocratic and did not have the best interest of Europe’s people in mind. The future of the EU wasn’t threatened so much by the United Kingdom’s coming exit, but by repeated attempts to turn the union into a new state. “It is clear that a whole number of nations that love their freedom will step out of such a union,” the declaration read.