Rõivas: What is the one thing I have done wrong as prime minister?
Taavi Rõivas, who was forced to resign as Prime Minister of Estonia following the passing of a no-confidence vote in the Riigikogu on Wednesday, asked in an interview on ETV that evening what exactly it was that he did wrong as Estonia’s head of government.
When one example offered was the corruption case involving the state-owned Port of Tallinn, Rõivas responded that he condemned that issue immediately, stating that it would be difficult to reproach either him or the Reform Party regarding that matter.
Regarding the prospect of a potential coalition including the Reform and Center Parties, the outgoing prime minister responded that for so long as he remained its chairman, the Reform Party would not be involved in a political left turn. "Under no circumstances will the Reform Party be guarantor of a left turn in Estonia," he stated.
Likewise he found that such a coalition could not be formed without the approval of recently replaced longtime Center Party chairman Edgar Savisaar.
Rõivas found that the interest of the Social Democratic Party (SDE), a former junior coalition partner, in a more left-wing government was understandable given the fact that they had been a part of a number of right-wing governments while themselves maintaining a different ideology. "I don’t approve of how they did it, but I understand it," he said.
At the same time, he found that in the case of the other former junior partner, the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL), their motives remained entirely incomprehensible, stating that if a party joins a government whose ideology is entirely different than of its two larger partners, it has to be extremely flexible.
He did not, however, believe that it was a case of vengeance on IRL’s part over having been previously rejected from the government, finding that such an assumption would mean that the party was petty enough to retaliate against new people over something that happened ten years ago.
Rõivas expressed hope that Estonia’s transition to a new prime minister would go smoothly, and that his contacts and experiences may be of use as well, adding that it was important that the transition be a smooth one even if a change of course brought with it some turbulence.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla