Session Profile: Leo Kunnas

The political focus is strongly directed towards national defense and security, emphasizing the need to restore and strengthen wartime engineering capabilities and reserves, based on the experiences of the war in Ukraine. He/She poses pointed questions to the government (Prime Minister Kaja Kallas) regarding the timeline and cost of restoring defense capabilities. Furthermore, he/she strongly supports a legislative amendment that would prohibit citizens of states recognized as terrorist from running in local elections. The positions taken are predominantly value-based and policy-driven, demanding concrete practical steps.

The speaker demonstrates profound expertise in the field of national defense, particularly concerning military engineering capabilities, stock replenishment, and training logistics. He addresses specific issues such as the denunciation of the Ottawa Convention and the domestic production of military-grade explosives. Furthermore, he is well-versed in legislative specifics, having presented draft amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and the Nature Conservation Act related to military training.

The rhetorical style is formal, factual, and often insistent, particularly on national defense topics, emphasizing the urgency of the issues. In the role of the opposition, the tone is protestive and demanding, criticizing the government's inaction and the stalling of parliamentary inquiries. The appeals are primarily logical and policy-based, focusing on demanding specific solutions and timelines.

The speaker is active both as an opposition interpellator (submitting questions to the Prime Minister) and as a representative of the National Defence Committee, introducing draft legislation based on consensus decisions. This pattern of activity demonstrates regular participation in parliamentary work, focusing on substantive security and legislative issues. The individual engages in both government oversight and the initiation of new legislation.

The main target of the opposition is the Government of the Republic and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, from whom they are demanding answers regarding defense spending and the replenishment of reserves. The criticism is substantive, addressing deficiencies in defense capability and the government's readiness. Furthermore, they protested the stalling of the processing of substantive inquiries, citing procedural unfairness.

The speaker cooperates both at the committee level, submitting draft legislation based on the consensus decision of the National Defense Committee, and across party lines. He/She publicly acknowledges cooperation with the Parempoolsed Party (Lavly Perling) in carrying out the legal analysis of the draft local government election law. This demonstrates a readiness for technical cooperation aimed at ensuring legal expertise.

The focus is clearly national and international, centered on strengthening Estonian national defense and incorporating the lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war. The need to develop the domestic defense industry has been mentioned, and references have been made to large-scale exercises (Kevadtorm). A specific local or regional focus is absent.

Economic considerations are tied to national defense, supporting the development of the domestic defense industry and the launch of military-grade explosive production in Estonia. This indicates a readiness to direct strategic national expenditures toward ensuring security and replenishing reserves.

Social issues have been addressed within the context of security, emphasizing the need to restrict the right of citizens of a state designated as terrorist to run in local elections. This is a strong, security-driven stance that prioritizes national security over certain civil rights.

The legislative focus is on enhancing national defense training, initiating amendments that will allow the installation of engineering (pioneer) bridges and the use of hazard warning systems during exercises. The second priority is amending the local government council election law to exclude citizens of terrorist regimes from the pool of candidates. The speaker is an active initiator of draft legislation and represents the consensus decisions of the committee.