Officials Weigh In on Kallas's Decision Not to Seek PM Office
Several officials said Siim Kallas's decision to not seek the office of prime minister was "understandable."
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who has six more days to name a candidate for prime minister, said he would continue consultations to form the government, commenting: "I understand completely the decision by Siim Kallas to quit the talks to form Estonia's new potential coalition. No one is made of iron, not in the face of generally worded and vague suspicions that run to interpreting the past rather than putting the present or future into words," said Ilves in a post on Facebook.
Reform Party chairman Andrus Ansip said: "To some extent, bowing out is understandable. He came under heavy fire back when his chance of one day becoming president was talked about," Ansip said on ERR Radio.
Ansip also said Kallas's decision to drop out came as a surprise to him.