Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00which guarantees me, the citizen,
00:00:02the confidence that my contribution to making Estonia's future better
00:00:05is similar to that of my fellow citizens and that we all
00:00:09also share in this better future in a similar way.
00:00:30graduated from the Estonian University of Life Sciences
00:00:32in 1981 and received
00:00:36his scientific degree in 1987.
00:00:39For several years, the active natural scientist Karis worked
00:00:43in research centers in Germany, the United Kingdom and
00:00:46the Netherlands. In 1999
00:00:50he became a professor at the University of Tartu.
00:00:53He has promoted higher education as the rector of both the Estonian University of Life Sciences
00:00:57and the University of Tartu, and led the rector's
00:01:00council. Alar Karis has also worked as the Auditor General of the Republic
00:01:04of Estonia. When he became a presidential candidate,
00:01:08he was the director of the Estonian National Museum.
00:01:11On October 11, 2021, the
00:01:14Riigikogu elected Alar Karis as the President of the Republic
00:01:17of Estonia.
00:01:21What I hope to see more of are debates
00:01:25in the Riigikogu and in society, discussions, expressing
00:01:29one's own views and listening to others,
00:01:32whether the topic is climate or the green transition,
00:01:36energy and tax policy, budget or
00:01:40forestry, or even the choices
00:01:43of the European Union and the development of the defense forces.
00:01:46There are no taboo topics to
00:01:49debate. Dogmas and bureaucratic language,
00:01:53political correctness chain freedom of thought, without
00:01:56which no solutions that lead us forward will be born.
00:02:01"Tension can short-circuit society, relations
00:02:04between countries and within countries,
00:02:08between people and within
00:02:10people. The current situation
00:02:13is that the virus, to the tension.
00:02:17energy prices, and also
00:02:20our
00:02:21eastern neighbor are all adding
00:02:25The world that we still knew a week
00:02:27ago is
00:02:30no more.
00:02:32President Putin's decision to send the Russian army to attack
00:02:36the country of Ukraine
00:02:39brought war back to the heart of Europe.
00:02:53In the shadow of the crises of recent years, various
00:02:56governments have increased state spending
00:02:58without explaining where the money for them will be taken
00:03:02from in the long run.
00:03:04Not only one-off extraordinary expenditures have increased,
00:03:08for example during the corona crisis,
00:03:10but also fixed costs.
00:03:13We should get used to the practice that if someone
00:03:16wants to increase the state's fixed costs, then
00:03:20they also show which tax increase or cut
00:03:23in public benefits it can be
00:03:26done with. Again, parties promise to distribute...
00:03:30aid here and there,
00:03:33but like Easter and self-gifts, the next
00:03:36governments have to look for where the money will come from
00:03:39to pay for them.
00:03:41This way we are taking from our children
00:03:44and grandchildren. Education needs a cross-party
00:03:48agreement, a necessary number of motivated
00:03:51teachers, and sufficient funding for
00:03:54all of this. Education determines the future
00:03:57of the nation, wisdom makes one rich.
00:04:00Spiritually and economically, we
00:04:03need to talk about mental health,
00:04:07the mental health of young people. Young people
00:04:11break down more and more often, and for every one who breaks down, there are
00:04:15thousands more who need help and
00:04:17support. The pandemic has amplified the problem:
00:04:21distance learning, face to face, the drying
00:04:25up of social contacts, the decline
00:04:28of hobby education. The growth of mental health concerns
00:04:31among both young people
00:04:34and adults has many more accumulated
00:04:38reasons behind it. We often don't know how to maintain
00:04:42relationships with loved ones, we lack people to turn to for
00:04:45help, young people are often ashamed to
00:04:49seek help and are left
00:04:52alone with themselves. But above all, we don't talk about
00:04:56this topic enough, we don't understand the seriousness of the problems
00:05:00and we don't know how to notice those in distress
00:05:03and tend to consider their worries a sign
00:05:06of weakness. These worries are not weakness,
00:05:09they are real worries.
00:05:13We have gained a new word,
00:05:16"cluster crisis." Speculation is being made
00:05:20about when this crisis, which is integrated
00:05:23from several sectors, will end. I don't
00:05:27know, nobody
00:05:29knows. The peculiarity of the uncertain
00:05:33time that has arrived may be that
00:05:36crisis and normal situations are no longer distinguishable
00:05:39in the same way. The power of the majority. "One should not
00:05:43start to deepen societal divides until they
00:05:47are truly insurmountable.
00:05:50One thing is to remain in the minority, another
00:05:53thing is to feel that the views represented
00:05:56by the opposition are not even
00:05:59worth discussing or taking seriously.
00:06:03This is one reason why, in my opinion, the government cannot
00:06:06unlimitedly use the possibility of linking the adoption
00:06:10of a bill in parliament
00:06:12with a confidence vote.
00:06:15The role of the Riigikogu cannot be limited to deciding whether
00:06:18the government is trusted.
00:06:21On the other hand, obstruction cannot give a veto
00:06:24to the minority. If the legal
00:06:27work of the Riigikogu gets stuck, then
00:06:30the opposition also has no point in striving
00:06:33for power. Then the state as
00:06:36a whole pays the price, not just some
00:06:39party.
00:07:05We are a border country of freedom, but we must not become
00:07:09a front-line country. Our opponents,
00:07:12"no matter how insane, will not dare to attack NATO
00:07:16territory, because they know that we will strike
00:07:19back harder, because our real
00:07:22readiness, our collective contribution,
00:07:26is what makes Estonia a safe place. Therefore,
00:07:30my message is unified, let's not think or speak
00:07:34ourselves weaker than we
00:07:36are.
00:09:38want to learn, and therefore perhaps we have trained
00:09:41too many specialists, which is
00:09:43tragic in a way, that you go to study for your dreams
00:09:47and then at some point you enter the labor market and realize
00:09:51that you have no value.
00:09:54I would like to manage my own company with such complexity.
00:09:57I think we would be bankrupt quite soon. The most
00:10:01expensive savings, tonight at Eight
00:10:05on Estonian
00:10:05Television.
00:10:35And good day, dear viewers of Estonian Television. We
00:10:38begin a live broadcast from Toompea, where in a few moments the inauguration
00:10:42ceremony of the President of the Republic will begin. On the square
00:10:45in front of Toompea Castle, for the change of presidents
00:10:49of the Republic, the leadership of the Defence Forces and the Defence League,
00:10:52the military police guard battalion,
00:10:55an honor company and an honor guard, and
00:10:57a military orchestra are lined up. It's a gloomy
00:11:01and wet autumn day, but the flags all over Tallinn are flying quite
00:11:04proudly. We are about to see a historic ceremony, which
00:11:07last took place five years ago, when Kersti Kaljulaid
00:11:11handed over the baton to Alar Karis. The rule
00:11:15is very simple: if the same president is re-elected,
00:11:18ceremony again in ten years. During today's
00:11:21ceremony, the guard battalion's company
00:11:25inspection will take place twice, first by the outgoing
00:11:28head of state, Alar Karis, and then by the next president, Ülle
00:11:32Madise. We will listen to the anthem, the outgoing president
00:11:36will greet the honor company and shake hands with the leaders
00:11:40of the Defence Forces and the Defence League, after which they will proceed to the
00:11:43Riigikogu building, where Alar Karis will deliver his last speech
00:11:46of his term. The solemn
00:11:48signal will sound.
00:12:16And we see how the presidential motorcades are moving
00:12:19from the city center towards Toompea, specifically
00:12:23the cars of President Alar Karis and the elected President Ülle Madise
00:12:26are moving from the lower town up to Toompea
00:12:29and people have come to greet the presidents
00:12:32on the street, although there are few of them today
00:12:35due to the weather, but the institution of the president
00:12:39is very trustworthy in Estonia and the personal support
00:12:43for the still-serving President Alar Karis
00:12:46is very high. This is, by the way, a good opportunity to thank the president for his work
00:12:50and to give the next president the best wishes
00:12:54upon taking office. And indeed, the office of president is not an easy one,
00:12:58that's true, Mirko, by the way, academician, textile artist Anu
00:13:01Raud has said that being president is no walk in the park,
00:13:05workdays last until midnight, life is diverse
00:13:07from wall to wall, from a manor house in Kodukondi
00:13:11to the English Royal Family and on Christmas night, with the flashes of church gloves
00:13:14in the holy place, to the Son of God. Alar
00:13:17Karis's presidency will probably be characterized
00:13:20by three keywords: education,
00:13:23science and... curiosity. In numbers, this means
00:13:27122 foreign visits,
00:13:3042 hosted heads of state,
00:13:34517 promulgated laws,
00:13:37nearly 700 speeches, 969
00:13:41decorations, and countless meetings
00:13:44in schools, businesses, and all regions
00:13:47of Estonia. But now, ladies and gentlemen, the most
00:13:50solemn moments of today's ceremonial
00:13:54ceremony are if Mirko described the ceremony earlier,
00:13:58what happens here, then
00:14:00after that, when they go to the Riigikogu, Ülle Madise will take the oath of office, the president will receive
00:14:04the chain of office around her neck, and the new president will also deliver her
00:14:08first speech before the Riigikogu. Well, Ülle Madise actually showed
00:14:12already when she was elected that her speeches are of strong stuff. There were
00:14:16both figures, direction and momentum, and
00:14:19in her characteristic way, there was a, well, let's say,
00:14:23strong demandingness, but not in a scolding
00:14:25tone, so perhaps it can be even
00:14:29more effective, but the cars are arriving here
00:14:33in front of the Toompea
00:14:34castle.
00:14:39The President of the Republic Alar Karis and the elected President Ülle Madise
00:14:43with their spouses exit the cars. The doors are opened by
00:14:47the conscripts of the Guard Battalion's Honor Company and
00:14:50the presidents move to their places, accompanied by a solemn
00:14:53march, under the leadership of Urmas Eigla, the Head of Protocol
00:14:56of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
00:15:02The solemn march was written by Eero Liivese, who was formerly
00:15:05Johannes Eduard Liinev before estonianization,
00:15:08for a solemn march
00:15:11competition in 1922.
00:15:14And the President of the Republic Alar Karis is the first to go
00:15:18to inspect the honor company,
00:15:21he is also accompanied by aide-de-camp Colonel.
00:17:43And now, the President of the Republic Alar Karis is going to inspect
00:17:46the honor company, and as mentioned, the two people who are
00:17:50by his side are, first, Rein Vaabel and
00:17:53the commander of the honor company, Andrei Bankratov.
00:17:56The president naturally greeted the military orchestra and gave a slight
00:17:59bow to the flag. This is the
00:18:02protocol and that's how it
00:18:04works.
00:18:07But for Rein Vaabel, today is also, among other things, his last
00:18:10working day as an aide-de-camp, and he is ending a long
00:18:13career. Ülle Madise's aides-de-camp are Major Tanel
00:18:17Tarlap and Kristian Leiman. Hello!
00:18:21Hello! Mr.
00:18:24President! Thank you for your
00:18:27service!
00:18:28Thank you!
00:18:32The Guard Battalion is also called the President's Guard, and its
00:18:36task is to. prepare police units and
00:18:39perform the state's representational function,
00:18:42conscripts also staff the President's official residence.
00:18:45Words of thanks from the President, naturally, and the President greets
00:18:49the leaders of the Defence Forces and the Defence League, Lieutenant General Andrus
00:18:52Meriloo, Commander of the Defence Forces, Major
00:18:55General Viktor Kalnitski, Deputy Commander
00:18:57of the Defence Forces, who has also been to Afghanistan
00:19:00three times, then Vahur Karus, also
00:19:04Major General, Chief of the General Staff, Ilmar Tamm is the Commander
00:19:07of the Defence League since December 2023, Major General
00:19:11Indrek Sirel, Division Commander,
00:19:13then Brigadier General Riivo Valge, Commander
00:19:16of the Air Force, Commodore Ivo Värk,
00:19:19Commander of the Navy, and then Chief Master Sergeant Andreas
00:19:23Rebane, Chief Master Sergeant of the Defence Forces, who took over duties from Enn Adoson
00:19:26and Andri Harkman is Chief Master Sergeant of the Defence League, participated
00:19:30in military operations in both Afghanistan and
00:19:33Iraq, by the way, in the Defence Forces since 1994.
00:19:40and rain, well, let's say it's slightly drizzling, but it's not too bad,
00:19:43but the presidents are now
00:19:46moving to Toompea Castle, where
00:19:49they should be greeted by the Speaker
00:19:53of the Riigikogu, Lauri Hussar.
00:19:56Alar Karis will deliver his last speech of his term
00:20:00in the Riigikogu in a few moments. The presidents
00:20:03are moving into the Riigikogu courtyard. This will be followed by Ülle Madise's oath of office. The president
00:20:07will be given the chain of office and then the first speech of the newly inaugurated
00:20:11president. The presidents are accompanied by the Head of Protocol
00:20:14Urmas Eigla, who then escorts Alar
00:20:18Karis and his wife Sirje Karis and the elected
00:20:22president and her husband, i.e. Ülle Madise and Lauri
00:20:25Madise, to the main gate and from there
00:20:28everyone moves to Toompea Castle
00:20:32accompanied by Lauri Hussar. Keep these
00:20:35shots on screen. We don't see two presidential couples every day, these are truly solemn and
00:20:39uplifting moments and now the Speaker
00:20:42of the Riigikogu, Lauri Hussar,
00:20:46greets the presidents and it is worth
00:20:49reminding viewers that Estonia is first and foremost a parliamentary
00:20:52country, so the ceremony
00:20:54is indeed centered on parliament, yes, and
00:20:58are approaching, that democracy is all in our hands,
00:21:01the presidents are entering the venerable Riigikogu
00:21:04building, then it will be a few moments
00:21:08until
00:21:11the solemn session of the Riigikogu begins,
00:21:14we can still follow
00:21:15with cameras for a bit.
00:21:19Also a quick comment from the Speaker
00:21:21of the Riigikogu, we are very efficient
00:21:24today.
00:21:27Ülle Madise, unlike Alar Karis, has
00:21:30a big advantage when it comes to parliament, namely that Ülle Madise
00:21:33has in her previous working life worked
00:21:37in the Estonian parliament,
00:21:39advising both the legal and constitutional
00:21:43committees. But
00:21:47now, dear viewers, our capable editors have
00:21:50done their work and we have a good opportunity to
00:21:53look back at President Karis's most exciting
00:21:56moments in office via video.
00:22:0370, 71.
00:22:0772. Five years ago, the Riigikogu elected
00:22:10Alar Karis as president in the second round, as he was the only
00:22:13candidate. The rector of two universities,
00:22:16the auditor general and the director of Ermi were known for his office.
00:22:20by, Mr. President, the President's
00:22:24attitudes and priorities are shown by his speeches. On Alar Karis's
00:22:27first Republic Day speech, Russia started the war
00:22:31in Ukraine.
00:22:34The war in Ukraine and security in Estonia, and also in Europe, were the same topics
00:22:37that the President spoke most frequently about in his anniversary
00:22:41and Rose Garden speeches. There were also quite a few
00:22:45times when the Ukrainian president
00:22:47and Alar Karis met.
00:22:50Three elections took place during this time: the Riigikogu, the European Parliament
00:22:54and local elections. Karis did not have unanimous support from either the coalition
00:22:57or the opposition. We will not back down.
00:23:01The list of laws alone that the president sent back
00:23:04to the Riigikogu is quite long. These included the Employment Contracts Act,
00:23:08the Military Service Act, the much-debated Church
00:23:12Act, as well as the Red Monuments Removal
00:23:15Act from public spaces and the Family Benefits Act.
00:23:18The reason was that these were not in compliance with the constitution
00:23:21or contained technical flaws due to haste. Karis was not
00:23:25also not happy that the government increasingly linked more laws
00:23:28to a confidence vote.
00:23:31The then Prime Minister Kaja Kallas explained that the coalition wanted
00:23:34to discuss, but linking it to confidence was a consequence
00:23:37of the opposition's obstruction in the Riigikogu.
00:23:40During the Eastern traffic scandal, President Karis believed that the then Prime Minister
00:23:44Kaja Kallas should resign. Kallas, however, asserted
00:23:47that she did not understand what she was guilty of. In his
00:23:50speeches, Karis urged politicians to engage in dialogue and listen
00:23:54to the people, simply because in this confusing situation a very clear message was needed. Relations between Foreign Minister
00:23:57Markus Tsahkna and President Alar Karis were strained for a longer
00:24:01period. This context also included confusion
00:24:04with foreign policy messages during Karis's state visit
00:24:07to Kazakhstan. Disagreements also arose after Karis's
00:24:10interviews with foreign media, where Karis said that a representative
00:24:14of the European Union should also participate in discussions to end the war
00:24:18with the USA, Ukraine, and Russia.
00:24:20The Foreign Minister was also annoyed by the sentence that Ukraine must decide on the possible
00:24:24cession of its territory to Russia at some point
00:24:27itself.
00:24:30At the same time, the president was asked if he wanted to run
00:24:33for a second term. Karis left the options open, and politicians
00:24:37thought he would run anyway.
00:24:40In his speech at the Victory Day parade, he said
00:24:43that.
00:24:51And it is appropriate to say hello to the listeners of Vikerraadio, today
00:24:55is the day of presidential change in the Republic of Estonia,
00:24:58which means that two cars arrived here
00:25:01from Kadriorg Palace, and in one car is today's
00:25:05president and in the other
00:25:08car is the next President of the Republic of Estonia,
00:25:11and here in the Riigikogu building
00:25:14their exchange will take place, and we have the opportunity
00:25:18to offer you fresh
00:25:21and immediate interviews. Our colleague Kristus is now
00:25:24ready,
00:25:27and good day, next to me here is the most
00:25:30senior member of the Riigikogu, Enn Eesmaa. Well Enn, a president
00:25:34is elected
00:25:37at least once every five years, sometimes even less often,
00:25:40how important a solemn event is this for you,
00:25:43so important that even when repeated, this event
00:25:46does not fade and...
00:25:50"I am in a peculiar situation, I, along with Urmas
00:25:53Reinsalu, are the only members of the Riigikogu in this composition
00:25:57who have had a direct official or professional relationship
00:26:00with all Estonian presidents who have been elected
00:26:04in re-independent Estonia. I worked in Lennart Meri's team,
00:26:08Urmas Reinsalu became the director of the chancellery a little
00:26:11later. Arnold Rüütel invited me to be his
00:26:14advisor, but I decided to come
00:26:17to the Riigikogu and all the other presidents I have
00:26:20already elected as a member of the Riigikogu. Is the feeling
00:26:24today the same as it was during Lennart's time?
00:26:27The country is different, the people have also changed a bit, but
00:26:31overall, even a person with limited
00:26:35imagination understands that this is an exceptionally
00:26:38important day. Mr. Eesmaa, what kind
00:26:41of President of the Republic will we get in Ülle Madise? I think that all
00:26:45the prerequisites are there for her to become
00:26:49an excellent president who will hold an
00:26:53honorable place in this long
00:26:56line. The Estonian people have decided that of the previous presidents,
00:26:59Leenard Meri has been the most successful. I also repeat
00:27:03again, the time was different,
00:27:06just the fact that Ms.
00:27:09Madise is a very great
00:27:12expert in Estonian constitutional law,
00:27:15and this already distinguishes her from other presidents, because one of her
00:27:19main areas of
00:27:23work is to ensure that everything happens
00:27:26according to the constitution. Thank you.
00:27:29There are still moments until the beginning
00:27:33of the solemn session Madise was elected the next President
00:27:36of the Republic of Estonia in the first round of the Riigikogu with 71
00:27:40votes, and she will be the sixth president since the restoration
00:27:43of independence, after Lennart Meri, Arnold Rüütel, Toomas
00:27:47Hendrik Ilves, Kersti Kaljulaid and Alar Karis. But
00:27:51now Evelin Poolamets and Kristjan
00:27:54Pihl are ready for an interview. And next to me is indeed
00:27:57Ekre representative Evelin Poolamets. Well Evelin,
00:28:00does the fact that many Ekre members are here today,
00:28:04I've even seen them celebrating in the cafe, mean that
00:28:08Ülle Madise is the president of all Estonian people and
00:28:12also represents Ekre not, Ülle Madise
00:28:15will have to prove that, but at the same time, when I think
00:28:19again that Ülle Madise has been the most
00:28:22competent in legal matters of all previous
00:28:26presidents, her election has been accompanied
00:28:29by the greatest legal nihilism, well. let's take, for example, her
00:28:33candidacy while in the office of Chancellor of Justice, and
00:28:37also that little bird, which was supposed to be an unfinished cross,
00:28:41adds a certain prejudice to her entire
00:28:44candidacy period. Well, Ülle
00:28:47Madise herself has pointed out that there is a lack of trust
00:28:50in the Estonian state, what do you think, where should this trust start
00:28:54to be built? Well, with such methods it is
00:28:57not possible to build, and if we look again at what
00:29:01Alar Karis said in his last interview, one can only
00:29:04sympathize with the president that he was forced to lie
00:29:08about Rail Baltic or how he
00:29:11had to remain silent, even though he would have wanted to speak, that
00:29:15the separation of powers is not present here
00:29:18and we cannot talk about trust in this
00:29:21matter either. And a big thank you, just a moment ago
00:29:24two Estonian presidents passed behind us, Alar Karis and
00:29:28the soon-to-be appointed Ülle Madise, so these
00:29:31solemn events are about to unfold before
00:29:35us. We are awaiting the beginning
00:29:39of the solemn session of the Riigikogu. I think I am not exaggerating when I say
00:29:43that Estonia has actually been lucky with its presidents and they have been
00:29:46strong, well, especially in their own time.
00:29:50But the results of many of their actions and decisions also resonate in today's
00:29:53day. But Alar Karis decided not to run for a second term,
00:29:57thoroughly shuffling the deck.
00:30:00He noted that he decided not to run for personal
00:30:03reasons, he had promised his family five years
00:30:07ago that he would only serve one term, while, for example,
00:30:10the newly appointed director of the presidential chancellery, Paavo Nõgene, expressed
00:30:14the opinion on Vikerraadio a few days ago that if Karis had wanted
00:30:17to become president, he would have also received the necessary support.
00:30:21But now everything is ready
00:30:24for the solemn session, speeches will be given,
00:30:27and Ülle Madise's oath of office will be heard,
00:30:31and we will also hear the anthem for the second time,
00:30:34but the session will be chaired by the Speaker of the Riigikogu, Lauri Husser.
00:30:38Esteemed Riigikogu, respected President
00:30:42of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis with his spouse, respected
00:30:45President-elect Ülle Madise with her spouse,
00:30:49President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President
00:30:52Kersti Kaljulaid, Mr. Prime Minister,
00:30:56Ministers, constitutional office holders.