Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) introduced Karu's candidacy to the head of state.
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) announced the name of their candidate for new IT minister on Friday, who turned out to be from outside of the party and has not previously been the member of any other party either.

Karu will be replacing Kert Kingo (EKRE), who resigned as minister on Oct. 23. Kingo was criticized after denying during Question Time in the Riigikogu that she had been in contact with Jakko Väli, then a member of the non-parliamentary Green Party, in connection with the plan to hire him as her adviser.

"I have not met with him, let me be frank about that," Kingo told MPs in the wake of revelations that Väli had posted indecent comments about former Centre MP Evelyn Sepp on social media, adding that she had not spoken with him about the latter being hired as her adviser either. "We have not met; we have not spoken about it."

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, however, said that Kingo herself had proposed at the ministry that an employment contract be concluded with Väli, and that this contract hiring him as her adviser had also actually been signed.

According to the ministry, the employment contract was terminated at Väli's request on Oct. 19.

Kingo has returned to the Riigikogu and taken up her seat as an MP in EKRE's parliamentary group.

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