Tsahkna optimistic on coalition continuity
IRL Chairman Margus Tsahkna said administrative reform will receive the most focus in any new coalition agreement. Commenting on a possible SDE-Center Party-IRL coalition, Tsahkna said the chances of that are near zero.
Tsahkna met Reform Party Chairman Taavi Rõivas and SDE head Jevgeni Ossinovski on Tuesday, Eesti Päevaleht reported. Tsahkna said the three agreed to tackle all problems before the end of the month.
“We took a look at the Social Democrat proposals and we went through them, and all in all I think there is room for negotiations. What I saw, is that this government can move forward,” he said.
He said the Social Democrats and the Center Party heads have already met and talked about a possible coalition, but no one on his party's board would support such a coalition.
The Social Democrats made a number of proposals to the coalition agreement in July, despite only signing the contract in April. The Reform Party rejected the most costly proposal, to double the monthly tax-free-minimum, straight off, leading to whispers of a new government.
Yet, there are very few other alternatives as IRL is unlikely to work with the Center Party, at least until Edgar Savisaar leaves. EKRE has been alienated by other parties while the Free Party only has eight seats. One possible coalition could be the Reform Party (30 seats), IRL (14 seats) and the Free Party (8), all right-leaning parties.
Editor: J.M. Laats