Take a chancellor on me

It may come as no surprise to hear that the Social Democrats (SDE) have come out in strong support of Allar Jõks, the man with two hands firmly on the tiller of Estonian justice. The embattled Chancellor has rankled the Right by actually doing his job rather than just kowtowing to the government, and with his tenure up early in the new year, the knives are out.

However, Eiki Nestor and friends have ridden to Jõks' defence and will be voting for the man to continue in the country's top judicial post for another seven years when the lease comes up for renewal in March. "Unlike some parties, the SDE hold Jõks in high regard for the courage he has shown in taking decisions that have gone against the wishes of the parliament and the government," Nestor said, highlighting the Chancellor's championing of constitutional and human rights and his strong social conscience.

Nestor and current SDE leader Ivari Padar are reported to have pressed the issue today in a meeting with Toomas Hendrik Ilves who, as president, is charged with the task of selecting the candidate for the Chancellor of Justice post for approval thereafter by the parliament. For those of you who don't know, Ilves is a former leader of the Social Democratic Party.

For what it's worth, I think Jõks has done a good job.