Page 54 - bne magazine July 2022_20220704

54 I Central Europe bne July 2022
President Duda meeting the Slovak President Zuzana Caputova last month in Bratislava.
and the unwavering will to defend our independence. The prerequisite and mainstay of this is command of the Estonian language. In a situation where the Centre Party is actively working in the government against the fundamental values that are most important to Estonia, we cannot continue to cooperate with them anymore," she said.
As well as the pre-school language issue, Kallas pointed to the fact that most of the ministers of the Centre party, which has traditionally had strong ethnic Russian support, do not have security clearance.
"If we add to this the fact that no minister of the Centre Party other than Kristian Jaani and Eva-Maria Liimets has permission to access Nato secrets, then it is not possible to rule the country with such a composition of the ministerial corps in time of war. That is why I formalised the state of affairs that has actually been in place for a long time and took proposals for the dismissal of the Centre Party ministers to Kadriorg [the presidential seat]," Kallas said.
Kallas will now try to form a new coalition with the opposition Social Democrat and centre-right Isamaa parties. "Estonia needs a stable government that can address the major challenges facing the country," the premier added.
Helir-Valdor Seeder, chairman of the Isamaa party – which is likely to hold the
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balance of power in any coalition – told Estonian daily Postimees that he was ready to negotiate. "Isamaa wants to participate in the process," Seeder said.
Juri Ratas, chairman of the Centre Party and parliamentary speaker, described Kallas’ decision as incomprehensible, saying it must be designed to divert attention from the problems affecting Estonian society. Estonia’s cost of living is soaring, with inflation hitting 20.1% in May, the highest figure in the EU.
"It is quite possible that with this move the Reform Party is trying to distract attention from the problems that plague Estonian society," he said. "If Kaja
Kallas finds raising family allowances, lowering fuel excise duties and offering residents of Estonia relief from record high inflation not to her liking, she should say so publicly or even resign," Ratas said. "That would have been
a fair and statesmanlike step, given the fact that the prime minister has herself repeatedly indicated that she would resign."
Appearing on the ETV politics discussion show Esimene studio, Ratas did not rule out rebuilding the coalition with the Reform party but insisted that "a new coalition must be formed. Estonia needs a functioning government, that much
is clear."
Lauri Laanemets, chairman of the opposition Estonian Social Democratic Party (SDE), said he understood Kallas’
situation we have an Estonia-centred and pro-European government. I am
of the opinion that Estonia must quickly get a functioning government that
is not a government of doubters or
a government of hesitators," he said.
If Reform is not able to form a government with the two smaller opposition parties, it is likely that Centre could try to rebuild its coalition with EKRE and Isamma, with which it was
in government from 2019-2021.
According to Laanemets, preparations for this new coalition have been made actively over the past week. He said such restoration of such a coalition, especially in the current security situation, is a "real security threat to the Estonian state, its allied relations and also the economy". Martin Helme, EKRE leader, has accused the government
of whipping up "hysteria" over the war.
According to President Alar Karis, the collapse of the coalition of the Reform Party and the Centre Party had been evident for some time.
"Today this coalition conclusively came to an end. We must now act quickly and must not lose time. Estonia urgently needs a capable coalition and a capable government able to make decisions and lead the country," he said.
"Times are turbulent both at home and abroad. Here in Europe, we are
in the midst of the most acute security
“For the Social Democrats, it is important that
in the current security situation we have an Estonia-centred and pro-European government”
decision as the coalition has been unable to work together for several weeks already, while in the midst of the biggest security crisis since Estonia regained
its independence and in the face of a looming cost of living crisis.
"For the Social Democrats, it is important that in the current security
crisis in decades. We have unresolved energy security issues. Then there is the worsening of socio-economic problems, rising electricity, heating and gas bills that threaten the livelihoods of many. On top of all that, there is a lack of knowledge about where to find cover for rising budget expenditures," the president said.