Nestor: confidence vote countermeasure for filibustering
Parliament Speaker Eiki Nestor, Social Democrat, said the government was correct in adding a confidence clause to the package of tax reform bills which will see the Cabinet step down, if rejected by Parliament on Monday.
Nestor told ERR the measure aims to bring opposition filibustering tactics to a halt. Parliament spent 14 hours last week discussing the bills, with opposition parties doing all to drag out procedures. The debate was due to begin again on Wednesday with close to 200 amendments already submitted before the government strung the bills together and added a confidence clause.
He said the opposition is only using delaying methods to disrupt Parliament's work and the confidence clause is just a counter measure.
Estonian governments have used the confidence vote clause just twice before in the past 23 years, Nestor said, adding that the method is used multiple times each year in Finland. He said the opposition did not want a debate, but to reject all the measures.
The government wants to push the measures through – including the much debated increase in fuel and accommodation tax – in June as changes in tax need to come with at least a 6-month cross-over period before they take effect. Nestor said opposition parties left the government no choice.
Editor: J.M. Laats