Session Profile: Mart Helme
Fifteenth Riigikogu, Third Session, Plenary Session.
2024-04-30
Political Position
The political focus is centered on protecting old-age pensions and valuing the wealth created by the generation of the elderly. The speaker is strongly opposed to the government's policy, which is deemed immoral, age-discriminatory, and cruel, as it effectively nullifies the contributions of the preceding generation. These positions are strongly value-based, emphasizing justice and the preservation of earned privileges.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Topic Expertise
The speaker draws on personal life experience to establish authority, citing the beginning of their early career, raising six children, and building wealth. Their expertise is focused on social issues, particularly the aspects of earning a retirement pension, the vulnerability of the elderly, and the necessity of expensive medications. They stress this generation's contribution to the national economy.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Rhetorical Style
The speaking style is highly confrontational, emotional, and accusatory, employing sharp moral condemnation (e.g., "immoral," "cruel"). The speaker draws upon personal experience (starting their working life at age 14) and uses rhetorical wordplay to illustrate the cruelty of political decisions toward vulnerable elderly people. The appeals are directed primarily toward pathos and an ethical sense of justice, rather than relying heavily on data.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Activity Patterns
There is not enough data.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Opposition Stance
The primary opponent is the government and the minister, who are being sharply criticized for the immorality of their policies and the discrimination against the elderly. The intensity of the attacks is high, accusing the government of living off the wealth created by the previous generation while simultaneously driving the populace into poverty and a state of destitution. The criticism focuses on the moral and social consequences of these policies.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Collaboration Style
There is not enough data.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Regional Focus
The focus is directed at national social and economic issues, particularly the topics of pension rights and creating national wealth. There are no references to specific regional or local issues; the emphasis is strictly on nationwide policy.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Economic Views
Economic views strongly emphasize earned rights and the contribution of generations to the nation’s wealth, which was primarily created by the generation that started their working life early. The speaker opposes policies that negate benefits earned through prior work, strongly defending the interests of pensioners and long-term contributors. Government policy is viewed as an immoral redistribution of wealth that harms those who created it.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Social Issues
The primary social issue revolves around the welfare of the elderly and age discrimination concerning pension entitlements and social benefits. Emphasis is placed on the need to protect the sick, the poor, and the lonely elderly, whose lives are made difficult by government policies that require them to purchase expensive medications. Social policy is framed as a moral obligation owed to the generation that has served.
2 Speeches Analyzed
Legislative Focus
The legislative focus is directed toward opposing the government's social policy and measures concerning pension entitlements. The speaker acts as an opponent of the policy, which allegedly strips the elderly of their earned privileges and leads them into financial hardship.
2 Speeches Analyzed