16.08.19 ... The main issue in this crisis isn't one of trust, but the fact that the Helmes have finally exposed themselves as scheming, clueless schoolyard bullies. Letting father and son stay on means that Prime Minister Jüri Ratas is ready to compromise even on principal matters of decency and conduct to keep his government together, which doesn't bode well for the coming months, writes ERR News editor Dario Cavegn.

15.08.19 ... The issue of uncompetitive salaries has been a major factor in a number of MPs, some of them high-profile, leaving the Riigikogu in recent years. But could calls to raise MPs' pay be confusing symptom for cure, asks ERR News editor Dario Cavegn.

14.08.19 ... MP salaries have stagnated as a result of a past inadequate legislative amendment. As a result, Riigikogu salaries have become relatively unattractive compared to other jobs. Considering the budgetary impact of possible raises in salary, ERR journalist Huko Aaspõllu finds in commentary to Vikerraadio that MP salaries in Estonia should be increased.

13.08.19 ... Either building national strategies on the foundations of scandalous statements and insults is simply a means of short-term success for certain groups or we really are more stupid than we seem, Estonian journalist Raul Rebane said in commentary on Vikerraadio.

12.08.19 ... Those who sounded the death knell for Jüri Ratas' second government jumped the gun. But those who consider the current government coalition of enduring may be fooling themselves and misleading others, writes journalist Toomas Sildam.

09.08.19 ... What is tangible at the 2019 Opinion Festival in Paide is the new trinity of Estonian public debate that has crystallized in recent years, with a progressive, open-society focus on one end, a very solid technocratic middle, and an almost isolationist, hard-line national conservative focus on the other, writes ERR News editor Dario Cavegn.

31.07.19 ... Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet (Reform) writes in an opinion piece for daily Eesti Päevaleht that the current government's changes to domestic policy have been extensive enough to substantially affect Estonia's foreign policy as well.

25.07.19 ... A public comment of a high-ranking Estonian diplomat points to a certain aimlessness of Estonia's foreign policy. This is immediately followed by another spat between different camps in government, with pro-European ministers on one side of the table, and nationalist-populist troublemakers on the other. Which begs the question who is really in charge, writes ERR's political editor, Toomas Sildam.

24.07.19 ... While Estonia's largest bookstore chains decided that they won't carry a new Estonian translation of Mein Kampf, there has been little and thus far only very superficial discussion of the topic in local media. Considering the current political and social situation as well as how Estonia has dealt with its own complicated history in the past, this is worrying, finds ERR news editor Dario Cavegn.

22.07.19 ... In a recently-published Foreign Policy interview, President Kersti Kaljulaid said she "hates" the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) for their actions and added that part of her present role involves putting out fires and mending Estonia's reputation abroad. The timing of the interview's publication might seem surprising, and even as one action in a much broader battle between the incumbent president and a would-be successor, ERR News editor Andrew Whyte writes.

17.07.19 ... While it is not a matter for the state or government to direct families how to live their lives, nonetheless, if families continue to have an average of less than two children apiece, the Estonian populace runs the risk of dying out in the long run, Minister for Population Affairs Riina Solman (Isamaa) argues in a recent opinion piece.

17.07.19 ... There are two topics in the current media sphere where the conflict between personal experience and research results and statistics is particularly acute. Among other reasons, this is because the issues are artificially hyped by some politicians, scientists and journalists, noted ERR journalist Rain Kooli on a recent Vikerradio broadcast.

09.07.19 ... The Estonian Song and Dance Festival is for everyone, regardless of constitution, regimes and governments. It is not the preserve of politicians, and so should not be hijacked by them, writes ERR's Merilin Pärli, a participant in the Song Festival herself.

03.07.19 ... Following the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's (PACE) recent decision to reinstate Russia's voting rights in the assembly, journalist Toomas Sildam writes about the importance of strategic patience to Estonia's foreign policy.

01.07.19 ... A recent case of the wife of a politician providing false evidence is by no means an isolated incident. The police handle dozens of similar cases every year. Instead, the story is an example of the casual abuse of the media by people who have been able to throw their weight around without any repercussions, ERR News editor Andrew Whyte writes.

17.06.19 ... The story surrounding the on-off, will-they/won't they be closing Laagna Road and, according to recent reports, a whole slew of other trademark routes in and around central Tallinn has itself become almost worthy of a movie, particularly one dealing in espionage or counter espionage. There are at least two possible ways of discerning who is in the right and who is in the wrong here, writes ERR News' managing editor, Andrew Whyte.

12.06.19 ... The bubble inflated by right wingers and eurosceptic forces prior to the May European elections was popped on election day, according to MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/ALDE).

10.06.19 ... Opinion on Estonia winning a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 2020-2021 has mostly been positive, with the consensus being the experience and boosted profile the office should bring outweighs some of its challenges.

10.06.19 ... Estonia's recent UN Security Council (UNSC) victory might tempt many to assume that, in the whole "globalists/federalists" versus stay-at-home nationalists war of words dominating recent months, the former won and confirmed their primacy, while the latter have been dealt a richly deserved blow and will now retreat back to their caves.

07.06.19 ... The Tallinn City Government's possible withdrawal from an official agreement regarding the limiting of the Reidi Road construction project undermines the trustworthiness of the city government itself, writes former Tallinn Deputy Mayor Züleyxa Izmailova (Greens).

06.06.19 ... Is it contradictory for Estonia to both welcome e-residence as well as deter nonresident criminals? Adam Rang, an Estonian entrepreneur who formerly worked at Estonia's e-Residency program, argues that one is not possible without the other.

06.06.19 ... From a Christian perspective, and based on the principle of loving thy neighbor, the top priority when shaping alcohol policy should be people's lives, health and safety, not tax receipts, Archbishop Urmas Viilma, head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK), found in commentary first published in Eesti Kirik.

05.06.19 ... No four-lane highways, no steps to encourage entrepreneurship in the counties, no concrete substance in regional programs — in its first few months of existence, the current ruling coalition hasn't given a single indication that they have any solutions to offer to help stop marginalization in Estonia, Põhjarannik editor-in-chief Erik Gamzejev says in commentary on Vikerraadio.

05.06.19 ... Our wages can't continue to grow 7-8 percent per year for long. Our competitiveness won't be able to keep up, and so this growth has to slow in the future. But we're still not taking into account other advantages to living in Estonia, businessman Indrek Neivelt said in commentary on Vikerraadio on Tuesday.

04.06.19 ... Today, on June 4, the Estonian flag turns 135 years old. This is a speech that I gave 15 years ago, at a conference held at the EÜS House in Tartu dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the Estonian flag, and unfortunately it is more relevant now than it was then, writes former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

04.06.19 ... Estonian passenger rail operator Elron announced on Monday that it would be banning all bikes from its more popular departures on certain routes on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer season. In a public letter penned in response, writer, theater critic and bike rider Andres Keil calls on Elron to consider the effects of its bike ban on regular Estonian residents, as well as consider more viable solutions to the overcrowding issue.

03.06.19 ... News finally began to trickle in about what kind of decisions would shape Estonia's 2020-2023 state budget strategy after the results of the European Parliament elections were in. As it turns out, the future looks bleak, at least when it comes to research funding, writes Lea Larin, research editor for cultural magazine Sirp.

03.06.19 ... Less than a week from now, Estonia may end up at the center of world politics and start participating in decision-making that we previously had no business being involved in; it would be sad if our values compass pointed us away from Estonia's democratic allies, writes journalist Toomas Sildam.

31.05.19 ... It would be a very serious loss if Transferwise left Estonia, but it would an even bigger loss if our current actions and lack thereof ended up being the reason why the next startups, the next potential Transferwises, went unestablished here, said Praxis think tank board chairman Tarmo Jüristo in a comment on Vikerraadio.

30.05.19 ... The Estonian government set a price on the trust of its citizens, slapping a price tag on it of less than half a million euros. This is the savings they hope to achieve by not buying land along the border from its owners, but rather using it via easement, said Mirjam Nutov in a comment on Vikerraadio.

30.05.19 ... Following its state budget strategy discussions, the coalition government announced Monday a bill, which is already at the Riigikogu, to reduce alcohol excise duties by 25 percent, effective from July 1, should the bill pass. The move reverses several years of excise hikes, under the previous administration. However, the excise shortfall that cutting alcohol excise duties in Estonia would bring can only be made up by increased consumption, both by Estonians and Finns, writes Viktor Trasberg, lecturer in economic theory at the University of Tartu.

28.05.19 ... As unskilled jobs continue to disappear all over the world and the future belongs to jobs requiring intellectual efforts, I cannot understand the government's decision to continue underfunding research and higher education, writes Mikk Kasesalk.

27.05.19 ... One can only imagine how Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) must have felt when the media wanted to hear from him on Election Day whether Estonia was really going to refuse an invitation to the upcoming G20 IT ministers' meeting in Japan. Ratas decided to go himself on the spot, but he didn't really have a choice, writes ERR's political editor, Toomas Sildam.

20.05.19 ... The 2019 Lennart Meri Conference, organized by the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS), running May 17-19 , was the 16th annual event of its kind, bringing journalists, diplomats, analysts, academics, politicians and other expert speakers to Tallinn. The event was billed as "one past, many futures", suggesting a degree of uncertainty very much present in the Estonia of 2019. Here's a few things I learned from the one conference, many panel discussions.

17.05.19 ... Opinion on the current, almost daily "coalition show" in Estonia has continued to stream in lately, with concerns on the country's reputation internationally, possible longer term solutions to the fracas, the underlying roots of a problem almost bound to surface one fine day, and more takes on the nature and status of free speech in journalism, all filtering through to the pages of some of the major publications in Estonia.

16.05.19 ... In commentary on ERR's Vikerraadio earlier this week, journalist Rein Sikk reflected on those who officially did not make the cut to perform in the XX Dance Festival this summer, and whether the road to Estonia's world-famous festival must be lined with tears at all. One solution that could see everyone included was already demonstrated by youth dancers in a public square in 2017.

14.05.19 ... In a comment on ERR's Vikerraadio, communications expert Raul Rebane examined the current media picture from a different angle, asserting that an unprecedentedly sharp war of symbolic gestures is currently taking place.

13.05.19 ... Estonia faces the same challenges in dealing with domestic violence as other European countries, writes Kristian Jaani, head of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA)'s North Prefecture. The country is smart enough to learn from other countries' experiences, but can also pass on its own experience, he writes in an opinion piece on ERR's online Estonian news.

13.05.19 ... Entrepreneur, former banker, and commentator Indrek Neivelt writes about seven economic-political dogmas that have defined Estonia in the last two decades, and which he thinks the country needs to move on from. The message is simple: we live in a fast-paced world, and the ability to adapt is more important than it has ever been.

13.05.19 ... The Estonian state won't go snooping around people's bedrooms, or telling them how many children to have, or whether to have children at all, Minister of Population Riina Solman (Isamaa) says. But it wants to nudge people towards having more children, by implementing policies that support large families.

06.05.19 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid might have tried other, more effective, means of communicating her views on the current situation in politics and the media, senior ERR journalists Anvar Samost and Toomas Sildam said on Sunday, adding that events might herald fairly cool relations between Kadriorg and the Stenbock house in the coming future.

02.05.19 ... How did Estonia become such an awful place so quickly, as though we have swallowed the red pill like in "The Matrix"? Kaupo Meiel reflects in commentary to Vikerraadio.

02.05.19 ... Fifteen years in the European Union has passed in a blink of an eye, writes Kaja Tael, Estonia's Permanent Representative to the EU. Upon joining, Estonia tended to look with some awe at Finland and Sweden — the two countries which offered the most help in preparing for membership — as experienced member states. Yet, in 2004 when Estonia joined, those two countries hadn't been in the EU for even a decade at that point (they joined in 1995). By this measure, Estonia is already an old hand, Tael writes.

29.04.19 ... Press executives and journalists have no excuse for allowing some kind of roundtable to take charge of the press freedom situation in Estonia — this is and must remain their job, writes political observer Martin Kala in an opinion piece originally published by daily Postimees on Sunday night.

29.04.19 ... So that's it. Press freedoms are under attack in Estonia. With two journalists stepping down in a little over a week, one in the privately-run media, one quitting a show he had hosted for four years at public broadcaster ERR, this is but the opening salvo of a one-way struggle initiated by the incoming coalition government, and one party in particular, and we can look forward to much more of the same in future. Or so the narrative would have it.

26.04.19 ... Noted writer, critic, artist, poet and cultural commentator Linnar Priimägi has noted, in his Protocol cultural diary on ERR's Estonian online culture portal, the significance of President Kersti Kaljulaid's meeting with Vladimir Putin last week. He also looks at the dangers of over-complicating concepts, in violation of Ockham's razor, and of the need for mediocre literature.

25.04.19 ... With the signing into being of the new government coalition on Wednesday, ERR's senior political analyst Toomas Sildam appeared on ETV current affairs show Aktuaalne kaamera to take stock.

23.04.19 ... Opinions on topics ranging from the values in politics and society in Estonia today, to journalistic freedoms, President Kersti Kaljulaid's meeting with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin last week, and the recent election of a new head of state in Ukraine have abounded in the Estonian media since the week began. We'll take a look at some of these, starting with the week's big event – the Riigikogu centenary.

22.04.19 ... Father Vello Salo, who died at the weekend at the age of 94, may have been comparatively unusual in being a Roman Catholic Priest from Estonia, who spent many years in exile during the Soviet occupation. However, as fellow priest – albeit from a different denomination – Father Sakarias Leppik explains, Father Salo's spirituality and ''Estonian-ness'' stemmed from roots which went much deeper than simply his nationality.

17.04.19 ... In a parliamentary state, the president is not involved in the formation of a government, which is why they generally lack the right to reject a candidate for minister in connection with, for example, political convictions, writes attorney and former Chancellor of Justice Allar Jõks.