Estonia: Demonstrates the suitability of a parliamentary appointed head of state

By Online Editor -
The Estonian Parliament has re-elected its head of state,  President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, demonstrating there is no need for a direct election of its president.  Estonia is a full Parliamentary democracy and it's head of state is elected by a two-thirds constitutional majority of Estonia 101 member Parliament. This process allows Estonia to avoid the high cost of expenditure that is required for conduct direct elections and for candidates to run campaigns.  It is a system that Ukraine should also adopt.  In 2009 Ukraine came close to doing just that but Vikor Yushchenko opposed this model.

The Estonian president's powers are largely ceremonial is modeled in the Finish Constitution which also has it's Parliament elect its head of state.

Estonia, which joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, now has one of the best performing economies in the debt-ridden 17-nation currency bloc.

Economic output increased 8.4 percent annually in the second quarter, and Estonia's public debt is the lowest in the eurozone.

"Little by little, we're becoming a boring Nordic country," Ilves told lawmakers after the vote, referring to the more prosperous welfare states across the Baltic Sea

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