Criticism of Reform Party within coalition grows
Former minister and current MP Urve Palo (SDE) said to ERR on Monday that she as well as several other members of the Social Democrats thought the Reform Party should be removed from power, but that they hadn’t yet discussed whether or not they were going to support the opposition’s expression of no confidence.
“There are a lot of people in our party that are critical of the Reform Party,” Palo said, pointing to the fact that the Social Democrats’ party council had actually voted on leaving the coalition in August 2015, and that those in favor of staying on had won by a very small margin.
Palo has been criticizing the Reform Party for a long time now, and said that she was very much tempted to participate in the expression of no confidence against Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform). “But I’m still thinking,” she said, adding that the Social Democrats would certainly discuss how to vote.
According to Palo, who resigned as Minister of Entrepreneurship in the current government in 2015, her party leaving the government would be beneficial for Estonian democracy as well as the Reform Party.
“I think that Estonia needs a change of government, and to give the Reform Party a holiday and let them deal with their internal problems,” Palo said. “That would be best for everybody.”
Tsahkna: Reform Party’s plotting almost caused constitutional crisis
Minister of Social Protection and chairman of the other junior coalition partner Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL), Margus Tsahkna, said at a meeting of IRL’s party council in Tartu on Sunday that Estonia’s development had come to a stop.
“Estonia doesn’t need fine-tuning, but once again serious decisions,” Tsahkna said, referring to an earlier statement by Rõivas. Just quietly participating and looking on wasn’t an option anymore and only made the party responsible for a worsening situation. “We are ready for change, now the question is, are others ready to leave the course of fine-tuning as well?”
The only superficially innocent presidential elections had shaken up Estonian politics and brought out problems that until then had been kept hidden, Tsahkna said. The Reform Party’s internal plotting and intrigues had almost caused a constitutional crisis.
The opposition parties in the Riigikogu are planning an expression of no confidence against Prime Minister Rõivas for Nov. 7.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn