Session Profile: Helle-Moonika Helme
15th Riigikogu, extraordinary session of the Riigikogu
2024-07-29
Political Position
Strong and intense opposition to the motor vehicle tax, which is deemed unconstitutional, anti-people, and criminal. The political focus is aimed at criticizing the government's incompetence and cynicism, while emphasizing the protection of the public's livelihood and welfare. The speaker positions themselves as an opponent of tax hikes and a proponent of tax cuts, referencing EKRE's previous success in ensuring economic growth.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Topic Expertise
The speaker demonstrates expertise in finance and fiscal policy, stressing the necessity of basic arithmetic and thorough impact analysis, while referencing their lecturer, Janno Reiljan. They provide detailed information regarding the root causes of the state budget deficit and foreign aid expenditures, offering specific areas where savings could be implemented. Furthermore, they are well-versed in the technical specifics of the legislation, such as fuel excise duty and registration fees.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Rhetorical Style
The style is extremely confrontational, accusatory, and emotional, employing strong language such as "criminal," "persecutes," and "tortures." The speaker appeals directly to the Estonian people, pitting the government's actions against the interests of the nation, and repeatedly utilizes rhetorical questions and irony. He/She criticizes the vague responses of opponents, while simultaneously highlighting the government's own failure to provide concrete data.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Activity Patterns
The speaker is highly active during the session, delivering lengthy speeches and repeatedly moving for votes on amendments. They use every opportunity to demonstrate their own and their faction's opposition to the car tax, insisting that every single amendment be put to a vote. They also reference their earlier speech on the same subject.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Opposition Stance
The main opponents are the "new old government" and coalition MPs, who are accused of deliberately violating the constitution and persecuting the people. Criticism is also directed at the Riigikogu Board, the President, and the Chancellor of Justice, who are failing to intervene in the alleged violation of the principles of the rule of law. The criticism is intense and uncompromising because the ideas behind the draft law are considered fundamentally flawed.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Collaboration Style
The speaker stresses solidarity with their parliamentary group (EKRE) and with nearly 80% of the Estonian people who do not support the car tax. Cooperation with other factions is not mentioned; rather, the emphasis is placed on opposing the coalition and the government, which are deemed incompetent and corrupt. He criticizes the use of European Union funds, which, he claims, has corrupted the Estonian state.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Regional Focus
The focus is primarily on the national level (state budget, tax burden) and the international level (foreign aid to Africa, Romania, and Moldova, and the purchase of weapons for other countries). Regionally, emphasis is placed on the need to ensure the livelihood of rural residents through the mitigation of the car tax.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Economic Views
The speaker is a strong proponent of tax cuts and firmly opposes tax hikes, especially during an economic recession. He also stresses the inviolability of private property. He criticizes the government's lavish spending on foreign aid and defense procurement, seeing these as areas where savings could be made to cover the state budget deficit. He asserts that the state budget deficit was intentionally created.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Social Issues
The speaker focuses on ensuring the economic well-being of families with children, low-income families, and residents of rural areas through tax benefits. He criticizes the spending of state money on "colorful LGBT organizations," considering it an unnecessary expense that should be directed toward their own people.
21 Speeches Analyzed
Legislative Focus
His primary legislative focus is opposing the motor vehicle tax bill, which he considers deeply flawed. He has submitted 22 amendments aimed at mitigating the negative effects of the tax, such as reducing the registration fee based on the number of children and exempting vehicles older than 20 years from the charge. The speaker opposes the bill, but is actively proposing amendments.
21 Speeches Analyzed