Page 83 - bne magazine July 2022_20220704

bne July 2022
Opinion 83
The other thing that I find very important – especially these days – is the mental health of our people. It seems to me it
is very important to be focusing on it now [following the COVID pandemic] as it affects our families, communities and, certainly, the state.
Are there any other things besides the two mentioned that raise your concerns?
As a citizen and as a new president, everything matters to
me. But to remind you, the president has symbolic powers in Estonia. So I often think that all the Estonian president can do is talk to the people.
I see it as a very important mission – our communities are very tight-knit, diverse. As you know, we have a sizeable Russian community, also there are people whose living standards are
“As a citizen and as a new president, everything matters to me. But to remind you, the president has symbolic powers in Estonia. So
I often think that all the Estonian president can do is talk to the people”
lower than those of the others and so on. I see myself talking to very different people and communities in order to bring our government’s attention to their needs.
Like in most Europe, Estonia’s birth rate is unimpressive, to say it mildly. Will Estonia, a tiny country, be around in a couple of hundred years from now? How can Estonian women bear more babies?
Of course, we do have a future! Likewise the Lithuanians and the Latvians. If you look at the European Union, relatively small countries comprise one third of it.
But you are right, the demographics is a problem now. Here in Estonia and elsewhere – even in China. Naturally, every country wants to have a large population and more educated people, et cetera.
As a small country, we have to collaborate with the others. With the technological advancement we’re enjoying, there will perhaps be more jobs that do not require humans at all.
There’s no single solution to the low birth rate, though.
There is an ongoing discussion in Estonia to allow the voters to pick their president. Do you support the idea?
It is exclusively up to our people. It does not matter if I support it or not. The discussion you mentioned has been around for the last hundred years perhaps.
There are different ways of electing the president. I am open to any discussion and this too – I’ve started talking about that to our politicians and the political fractions in our parliament, the Riigikogu. If they come up with any consensus on the topic, I am ready to have a joint meeting with them to take it further. If there is no consensus and support, it makes no point to go to the parliament to change our constitution. I think we should get an answer [on the proposal] soon.
Estonia has nine unicorns. What is the secret for that?
Most of them are in the IT field. The main reason why we have relatively many of them is that we started working in the direction – promoting startups and entrepreneurship – quite early. We’ve made a clear emphasis on education too, which is significantly behind the achievement. Innovation has always been important for Estonians.
Are you aware of any other case when a museum director has become head of state?
Frankly, I’ve not done that kind of survey. But since we have quite many countries in the world, there might be a museum director who became a country’s president. I am not aware of such a case; however, I cannot rule out I am an exception.
Some still poke fun at Estonians as being slow. How would response to that?
[Grins] Here in Estonia we say that Finns are slow. It depends on who says it and how. But at the end of they, actions speak louder than words, don’t they say? [grins]
This interview has been lightly edited for readability.
President Karis holds a duck from the charity race of the Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer. / Raul Mee
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