In November, Ossinovski was elected Tallinn city council chairman by the council itself. The position pays €6,100 a month, but since Ossinovski has not given up his Riigikogu seat, he has not received pay for his work as city council chairman.

Ossinovski told ERR on Friday that he is currently only paid his base salary for being an MP, bringing in €4,400 a month. "My pay is not an issue here. I have to work hard at two jobs today and that stems from several factors, such as the climate package being discussed in the Riigikogu. But I will have to make a decision at some point," Ossinovski said.

The Social Democrat said he cannot yet say when he intends to step away from his Riigikogu seat to continue exclusively as the head of Tallinn city council. He noted that since no Riigikogu replacement has been found, it could still take some time, currently depending on the decision of former Social Democrat and current Center Party member Anastassia Kovalenko and if she wanted to replace Ossinovski in the Riigikogu.

Kovalenko ran as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 2019, but left the party last year, claiming the party had changed its values. If Kovalenko were to refuse the Riigikogu seat, the offer would go to teacher and Social Democratic Party member Toomas Jürgenstein.

Ossinovski has previously said that it would not be optimal if Kovalenko joined the Riigikogu, effectively taking away a vote from the Social Democrats. "There is certainly a presumption that a Social Democratic seat is filled by a Social Democrat. It would be dignified to not take our seat from us," Ossinovski told ERR in November.

The first two potential replacements for the former minister - Monika Haukanõmm and Rene Tammist - have already announced they would not join the Riigikogu.

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