Estonian governments since independence have been coalitions of at least two parties, since no one party has attained the 51 seats needed for a majority in the Riigikogu. EKRE received close to 100,000 votes at last Sunday's general election, giving it 19 seats, almost tripling its previous figure.

However, Reform, the party which picked up the largest number of seats at 34, said both before, during and after the election that it did not see EKRE as a viable coalition partner. The Social Democratic Party (SDE) has made similar statements in the past; these have tended to be reciprocated by EKRE.

EKRE protested outside the Riigikogu against the UN Global Compact on Migration in November; the coalition government was split on the issue of adopting the migration, then-coalition partner Isamaa opposed it.

''I am convinced that we will achieve a much better result at the next election,'' Mr Helme told daily Õhtuleht, as reported on Saturday.

''We make no secret of this, nor will the 'deep state' be able to stop it. Our intention is to form a single-party government one day...we will manage this,'' he went on.

The next elections are in fact in the last week of May to the European Parliament, when Estonia gets one more seat due to the post-Brexit redistribution of former UK MEP seats, as it stands at present. EKRE currently does not have an MEP. The party has been a vocal opponent of the union. The next municipal election is in 2021, and the next general election in 2023.