Estonia (6) -- Analyses-- July-September 2006

The new president

23.09.2006

Ilves received 174 votes from the 345-member electoral college, made up of lawmakers and municipal leaders, compared to 162 votes for incumbent Arnold Ruutel, the electoral committee said. Ruutel, 78, had been considered a front-runner in the race after parliament failed to settle on a candidate in three earlier voting rounds in late August. He has served as president since 2001 and enjoyed strong support in rural areas and among ethnic Russians, who make up a quarter of the population in the country of 1.3 million. But Tallinn's business and political leaders had snubbed Ruutel because of his past as a Soviet-era leader, his age and alleged lack of vision. Ilves - known for always wearing bow ties - was expected to integrate the country further into the European Union and firm up already warm relations with the United States. Estonia joined the EU and NATO in 2004 and is hoping to adopt the euro in the next few years. Ilves is a two-time foreign minister and former ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico. He is also a former journalist for Radio Free Europe in Germany. Born in Sweden to Estonian parents, he moved to Estonia in 1996. Critics had dubbed him 'an American in a bow tie' and said he had spent too much of his life abroad to understand current domestic issues. They also said he had no experience in dealing with Russia, Estonia's huge neighbor, with whom relations have been icy since the Baltic country's regained its independence in 1991. 'The road to Moscow goes via Brussels,' Ilves said, when asked how he intends to handle relations with Russia. Brussels is the main seat of the EU's institutions. His five-year term as president starts Oct. 9. While holding few powers apart from representing the country abroad and being the supreme military commander, the president is seen as a balancing power above the fray of partisan politics. But past presidents - especially Lennart Meri, who died earlier this year - have shown that the head of state can also have a large influence on domestic opinion and become an internationally respected figure.

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