Do we like them?

Do we like Alar Karis?

Our score: 6 out of 10. Nothing harmful turned up, but I could only read one fully dated article, so this is a cautious middle-to-good score.

Alar Karis is the Estonian president whose single term ran from 2021 into this autumn. He was a molecular geneticist before politics. Most of what follows rests on one dated news report, so treat this as a short sketch, not the full file.

The latest news is that he told a Defence League Victory Day parade in Rapla on 23 June 2026 that he would not run again. He said it was a personal decision and that he picked the timing so it wouldn't disrupt his daily work. That is his explanation; the opposition read it differently.

Isamaa chair Urmas Reinsalu said the governing parties didn't want a president with public backing because he was too independent. Centre Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart also pointed at the ruling parties. Prime Minister Kristen Michal urged parties to look for a broadly supported candidate. Those are the politicians' claims, and the article doesn't settle who is right.

On the harm check, I found nothing in his own words or acts in what I could read that targets LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, public health or the planet. I couldn't open enough dated pages on his record to say more. Treat the pass as provisional, not a gold star.

The good stuff is a long public career as a university rector, auditor-general and museum director before the presidency, but I couldn't confirm the details from a dated page I read. Honestly, that's the whole list. On the evidence I could verify, he's a lean yes with the homework half done.