The Estonian Independence Party ( et, Eesti Iseseisvuspartei, EIP) was a far-right

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. The party, founded in 1999, is a successor to the Estonian Future Party. One of the principal aims of the party is the withdrawal of

from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

Philosophy

The EIP's political philosophy promotes a doctrine of “Estonia as a neo-autarkic geopolitical space” and an associated geopolitical imperative of neutrality between the East and the West. The party programme states that Estonia is extraordinarily rich in natural resources (much of these remain latent) and is situated in an important geopolitical space. Thus, the party is also against Estonia belonging to the

, which they accuse of having neocolonised Estonia. The party recommended rejecting

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

suggestions. The party regards

Setomaa Setomaa (; russian: Сетумаа, seto, Setomaa) is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto people. The Seto dialect is a variety of South Estonian. The historic range of Setomaa is located in the territories of present-day ...

as a part of Estonia and not Russia.

History

The party's predecessor, Estonian Future Party (''Tuleviku Eesti Erakond'') was founded in 1994. In 1999, it was renamed to Estonian Independence Party. In 2001, the party called for closer relations with Russia and said that the country should have a bigger say in defining Estonia's future. EIP took part in the 2003 movement against Estonia joining the European Union. EIP candidates gained 2,705 votes, amounting to 0.55% of the national vote, in the 2003 parliamentary election. In the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative el ...

, the party's vote dropped to 1,274 votes, which was 0.2% of the total. In the

2011 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2011. * Local electoral calendar 2011 * National electoral calendar 2011 * 2011 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2011 Beninese presidential election * 2011 Beninese parliamentary ...

, the party's vote increased to 2,571 votes, which was 0.4% of the total. In the 2014 European Parliamentary election, the Estonian Independence Party received 4,158 votes, which was 1.3% of the vote. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, the party's vote diminished to 1,047 votes, which was 0.2% of the total. The party did not participate in the 2019 parliamentary elections. In 2022 it was reported, EIP has some links with the

Estonian Conservative People's Party The Conservative People's Party of Estonia ( et, Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond, EKRE) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012, with the m ...

. Its leadership joined EKRE in October 2022.

Controversies

Opponents have claimed that the party is a far-right organisation. This has been rejected by the party leader, Sven Sildnik, and a leading board member, Tauno Rahnu, a Tartu Neo-Nazi. One of the former leading members, Risto Teinonen, an ethnic Finn associated with Johan Bäckman, has also been accused of having

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

views.Kapo kahtlustab soomlast Eesti riigi vastases tegevuses

Eesti Päevaleht ''Eesti Päevaleht'' ''("Estonia Daily")'' is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly ''Eesti Ekspress''. It has a daily circulation of around 36,000. History and profile ''Eesti Päevaleht'' was founded on 5 Jun ...

, 2007-6-13.

Electoral results

Parliamentary elections

References

External links

Official website
{{Political parties in Estonia Political parties established in 1999 Political parties in Estonia Nationalist parties in Estonia Eurosceptic parties in Estonia 1999 establishments in Estonia Far-right parties in Europe Right-wing populism in Estonia Right-wing populist parties