Eesti 200 board member: There is no political leader in current situation
In the current crisis, no one in the government has shown they have the skills, knowledge or readiness to take responsibility and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) should demand Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik's (Center) resignation before people start demanding hers, member of the board of Eesti 200 Margus Tsahkna has said.
Speaking on ETV's current affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Tuesday, Tsahkna said the state's organization of the weekend's mass vaccination had been totally incompetent and belonged in the 20th century.
"If Estonia functions with all of its digital possibilities, data, knowledge of the people, there wouldn't have been the need to organize such mass events belonging to the 20th century where people are invited to get injected. We should have reached people personally. There was chaos throughout, in the organization, communication, which ended with private medical centers getting fines and termination of contracts from the Health Insurance Fund (haigekassa)," Tsahkna said.
He said the second wave of the pandemic has highlighted that politicians lack leadership skills.
"Kaja Kallas doesn't have leadership skills. Tanel Kiik, who I respect, has been a minister responsible for two governments - instead of dealing with the pandemic, the last coalition dealt with a referendum. If Kiik doesn't make somebody in his managing area take responsibility, the trophy will reach him, political responsibility," he said.
Tsahnka said that Kallas also has to decide quickly who will be responsible and do it fast.
"If Kallas as a prime minister doesn't make any conclusions and doesn't go to the president with Kiik's resignation letter in her hands, then inevitably, it will be her turn. We'll see a situation in time where people are demanding the prime minister to resign," Tsahkna said.
Tsahkna added that Kallas has ended up in a similar situation as Jüri Ratas (Center) was in the previous government. "Kallas is on a defensive position politically, she's afraid to take bold steps, maybe she will offend Jüri Ratas and the Center Party will form a new coalition. Jüri Ratas was afraid of Martin Helme (chairman of EKRE) during the last government," Tsahkna said.
In his opinion, the year has shown that politicians have been living in a bubble. "And if it still isn't understood that the state needs reform," Tsahkna added.
He also said that the news on Tuesday of the Riigikogu's speaker and former prime minister Jüri Ratas not going for his vaccination was a blow to the government.
"Jüri Ratas put the knife in his coalition partner's back, the government and Tanel Kiik especially. It was a very difficult message for the people and the vaccination process in general. If the second man of the Riigikogu who looks as healthy as one can be, says that he's not going to get the vaccine, I think it has huge consequences," Tsahkna said.
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Editor: Roberta Vaino