Ilves meets with Savisaar, Reinsalu and Helme
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves met with the heads of the three Parliament parties which are less likely to be favored by the Reform Party in forming the next coalition.
Mart Helme, the head of the Conservative People's Party (seven seats), met Ilves on Tuesday morning, IRL's Urmas Reinsalu (14 seats) and Center Party Chairman Edgar Savisaar (27 seats) visited Kadriorg in the afternoon.
“We found that it would be very damaging if, in the current security and geopolitical situation, coalition talks drag out as Estonia should swear in a new government as soon as possible and move forward,” Helme said.
“We spoke about the new political situation and the possibilities for forming a majority government,” Reinsalu said.
“He congratulated me for good election results and we spoke about what could happen in the next few years. All sort of reforms,” said Savisaar.
Speaking about the Reform Party's decision not to include them in coalition talks, Savisaar said it is their choice, but a bad one.
“I hope the parties of the new coalition see the important questions which Estonia and our people are faced with, and are ready to cooperate in solving those problems: increasing wealth, security and state defense, education and science policy, state and administrative reform, preparing for EU presidency,” Ilves said, adding that he has now met all heads of the six parties and they all believe these topics to be important.
Ilves first met the heads of the Reform Party (30 seats), Social Democrats (15 seats) and the Free Party (eight seats), who are the favorites to form a coalition, although the winning Reform Party has held talks with both IRL and the Conservative People's Party. Ilves will soon ask one party head, most likely Taavi Rõivas, to form the next government, which will need the backing of 51 MPs in the new Parliament.
Editor: J.M. Laats