The Monocle Minute

When it comes to Russia, Kaja Kallas has been among the most hawkish of European leaders. Her robust stance has even landed her on Russia’s most-wanted list. Kallas, who resigned as Estonia’s prime minister on Monday and is expected to become the chief of the EU’s foreign and security policy later this year, has been pushing for more military aid to Ukraine, calling for European rearmament and criticising those who see anything other than a total Ukrainian victory as the solution to the war. Her appointment sends a strong and uncompromising signal to Moscow from Brussels: the EU won’t back down over Ukraine.

But while Kallas has strengthened Estonia’s borders by pushing for Nato to bolster its eastern flank, her policy record at home is lacking. She belongs to that small cohort of leaders who are immensely popular abroad but more divisive at home: a poll in January put her approval rating at a dismal 16 per cent. According to most Estonians who I have spoken with, this is because of her government’s poor results in turning the country’s economy around. But Kallas is a capable politician: she has done remarkable work raising her country’s international standing and was an active and influential member of the European Parliament between 2014 and 2018.

In Estonia, though, there is the sense that she is more at home during top-level summits than in the nitty-gritty of domestic politics. In her role as the EU’s foreign-policy chief, in which she will be the face of an entire continent and the chief diplomat for almost 450 million people, there will be more of the former. To get things done, Kallas will have to forge consensus among the 27 EU member states. This requires skilled statecraft but also a degree of humility. Given Kallas’s stance – and internal EU disarray about support for Ukraine – she will need to make compromises in her new role. Tough words will mean nothing if she can’t convince the rest of the bloc to follow her lead.

Petri Burtsoff is Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribeto Monocle today.

Parliamentary deadlock has hit France. The first order of business when the National Assembly reconvenes tomorrow is to fill key positions, including speaker. But leftist alliance New Popular Front (NFP) is yet to name a consensus candidate for prime minister. The incumbent, Gabriel Attal, resigned yesterday but will remain in post to lead an interim government until after the Paris Olympics.

The NFP’s four founding parties have already put forward at least six candidates for prime minister but negotiations are now at a standstill. The temporary government will offer the political parties some time to build a governing coalition but the clock is ticking. If the NFP fails to mobilise itself, it risks its political reputation and chance at power. And if the alliance cannot select a leader, France could end up with a different coalition altogether.

As planeloads of tourists fly to Koh Samui for their summer holidays, the Thai government is pushing ahead with a plan to connect the tropical island to the mainland by road. The Expressway Authority of Thailand is holding a three-day public consultation this week to discuss the location of a 25km sea bridge in the Gulf of Thailand, construction of which is expected to begin in 2029. Koh Samui’s privately owned airport handled an estimated 2.2 million arrivals last year and has limited capacity to handle more flights.

The road would add to the current options of travelling by air or sea. Hospitality businesses on the island stand to benefit from the increased traffic but not everyone is on board. When Monocle visited Koh Samui for Issue 175, there was surprisingly little demand from the hotel and travel sector for improving access to the island. Now that other tourist hotspots are talking of overtourism, perhaps Koh Samui is content to remain a tropical island that isn’t easy to get to – but is well worth the effort.

Ever wondered what David Bowie liked to eat for dinner, or how the members of Queen wrote and rehearsed their famous “Galileos”? Tiffany Murray’s new memoir invites us into the lives of 1970s rock nobility. Set at two recording studios, including the legendary Rockfield Studios where she was raised, her mother Joan was a chef for the likes of Black Sabbath and Motörhead. Georgina Godwin speaks to the author about Freddie Mercury’s love for the family’s great dane, her first encounter with drugs and vengeful neighbouring farmers in this enchanting account of the rural recording studio.