A senior Estonian parliamentarian has cheekily suggested that President Toomas Hendrik Ilves was the winner of the Latvian presidential elections.
Marko Mihkelson, the chairman of the Estonian parliamentary European affairs committee, said the election of a political unknown in Latvia would boost the profile of Estonia's own verbose and charismatic leader.
Writing on his blog, Mihkelson said that while Latvia's new president Valdis Zatlers might be a good doctor, in matters of international politics he would be clearly overshadowed by his Estonian colleague
"From now on we can say with certainty that with the departure of President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Toomas Hendrik Ilves is emerging as the most renowned representative and spokesman for the Baltic states and countries of central and eastern Europe - and why not partially of the Nordic countries too," Mihkelson said.
Mihkelson, a member of Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, praised the Latvian parliament for being able to elect the president without any major fuss.
