Outgoing head of state: Power of Estonian president lies in values, people's trust

TALLINN - The power of the Estonian president lies in the framework of the values set out in the Constitution and the trust of the people, outgoing head of state Kersti Kaljulaid said in her speech before the Riigikogu as president-elect Alar Karis was about to take the oath of the president.

Kaljulaid said that starting today, Alar Karis is given the opportunity to take a fresh look, the look of the new president, at Estonian life.

She said that parliamentary Estonia relies on a head of state with limited powers, who has to define for all of us where we come from and where we are going. This is what the people expect of the president. Parliamentary Estonia entrusts its head of state with the supervision of the meaning and the provisions of the Constitution. This is what the Constitution requires of the president.

Kaljulaid noted that the president only has the liberal democratic values described in the Constitution and the trust of the people to base himself or herself on.

"But can there be greater support than the framework of values set out in our Constitution? Or a stronger mandate than the trust of the people? There cannot be. And therein lies the power of the president of the Republic of Estonia," she said.

"I am very happy that Estonia has remained true to its choices formulated in the Constitution in 1992, because only such an Estonia can be independent forever," the outgoing president said.

Kaljulaid noted that Estonia faces many difficult choices related to the green transition, the transition to Estonian-language education, and a world that is changing ever more rapidly, and there is no better guide than constitutional values when making choices.

"Things can only go wrong if and when we ourselves retreat from these values. It is true that the last five years have been filled with intense debates about these very values. But I have felt the strong support of the Estonian people for these values," she added.