Estonian PM refuses to be head of European Commission

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform Party) said Thursday that she will not accept any offer as lead candidate for Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE)/Renew Europe at this June's European Parliament elections, Report informs via ERR.

Each European party picks a lead candidate, usually using the German term Spitzenkandidat, who would be that party's notional European Commission president.

Kallas said: "I have considered this proposal very thoroughly, and it has both pros and cons. But I have informed the ALDE leadership of my decision not to take up the role," Kallas said at the government's regular Thursday press conference.

"It would be challenging to explain that I am a lead candidate, yet at the same time not actually running for the European Parliament," she said. "Running for a half-win would be unfair," Kallas, who was an MEP 2014-2019, went on.

In any case, the offer of the lead candidate role was already a victory of sorts, and certainly a great recognition for Estonia as a whole, as well as for herself and the government she heads up, Kallas went on.

"It's likely a sign that we've been doing something right," she noted.

While taking up the offer would have led to a wider audience for Estonia, given the round of pan-European debates being a lead candidate entails, Kallas said, there are other ways of accomplishing that goal.