Opposition talks about government change, Reform excludes working with Center as long as Savisaar still chairman
With the presidential election in the electoral college coming up on Sept. 24, the parties have been in talks again about whose candidates to support. According to members of the opposition parties, there has been talk about a change in government as well.
Deputy chairman of the Center Party, Jaanus Karilaid, said to ETV’s “Aktuaalne Kaamera” on Sunday that current negotiations were all “unofficial”, and that at this point there were no binding agreements.
Karilaid said that Center had been in talks with all five parliamentary parties, discussing potential cooperation among opposition parties as well as negotiations about potential future government work. “But in politics, nothing is settled before the coalition agreement is signed,” he added.
Chairman of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), Mart Helme, said a week ago that there had been several meetings in August where a new government coalition was discussed. “And that without the Reform Party. We were approached, and not only by the opposition parties,” Helme confirmed.
A coalition of the Reform and Center parties would make a majority government possible without including any of the three others represented in the Riigikogu, but according to several representatives of the Reform Party is out of the question as long as the Center Party is run by Edgar Savisaar.
In Karilaid’s opinion, a coalition run by the Center Party with the Social Democrats and IRL as junior partners would be best to bring in some “fresh air”.
Social Democratic MP Rainer Vakra called stories about a potential change in government “rumors”, and potentially part of the Center Party’s campaign to get their candidate Mailis Reps elected president.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn