Estonian cabinet minister quits after calling Joe Biden and his son ‘corrupt’
- Far-right Interior Minister Mart Helme quit on Monday after his comments
- His son, Martin Helme, survived a no-confidence vote to remain in government
- The younger Helme said Biden’s U.S. election victory over Trump was rigged
- A NATO member, Estonia prizes its relationship with the U.S. as it borders Russia
An Estonian cabinet minister has quit after he called U.S. president elect Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden corrupt.
Estonia’s far right Interior Minister Mart Helme quit on Monday, while his son Martin survived a no-confidence vote to remain in government, after both men came under fire from coalition partners for criticising the Bidens.
In a radio interview on Sunday, the elder Helme said he believed Biden and his son Hunter were corrupt. The younger Helme said Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was rigged.
Mart Helme, Estonia’s far-right Interior Minister (left) quit on Monday while his son – Martin (right) survived a no-confidence vote after the pair came under fire for criticising the Bidens
Estonia, a NATO member bordering Russia, prizes its alliance with the United States as its first line of defence.
Politicians from Prime Minister Juri Ratas’s ruling coalition lined up to denounce the remarks of the two Helmes, saying they could jeopardise Estonia’s security.
But they appear to have stopped short of expelling the party from the coalition, by withholding support for the no-confidence vote in Martin Helme.
The younger Helme succeeded his father this year as leader of their populist ERKE party. His father still serves as deputy party leader.
‘This is but another baseless scandal geared at overthrowing the government,’ the younger Helme said in parliament on Monday.
Ratas condemned the remarks by both ministers, as did Estonia’s president, Kersti Kaljulaid. Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu called the remarks ‘crazy,’ while Defence Minister Juri Luik said they were ‘dangerous to the security of us all.’
President-elect Joe Biden (right) greets his son Hunter Biden (centre, holding his son) and wife Melissa Cohen, left, after making his victory speech following his election defeat of President Donald Trump. Mart helm called the Bidens corrupt and his son, Martin, said Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was rigged
U.S. President Donald Trump, beaten by Biden in the election last week, has accused Biden and his son Hunter of unethical business practices in China and Ukraine.
No evidence has been verified to support those allegations, and Biden has called them false and discredited.
Trump has also said Biden’s victory was rigged, while providing no evidence of significant fraud.