Minister: Many SDE members unhappy with Estonian PM scandal situation
Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs Madis Kallas (SDE) said that the scandal surrounding Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) has caused things to slow down significantly. Kallas also said that there are many in the Social Democratic Party, who are not happy with the situation.
"The Social Democratic Party (SDE) currently run three ministries and manage our own parliamentary group in the Riigikogu. We do our own thing. But of course, we cannot deny that the speed of work and the way things are moving forward has stalled significantly at the moment, because we also have to give a lot of answers in interviews and in different formats on topics that we would really like to no have to talk about. I, for example, would prefer to talk about regional development and agriculture," Madis Kallas told ERR.
The regional affairs minister acknowledged that the political situation, which has arisen as a result of the scandal surrounding the prime minister is also the topic of active discussion among members of the Social Democratic Party. "It has been the number one topic of discussion for the last two weeks. And all the other issues have been overshadowed by it," Kallas said.
ERR asked Kallas whether there were any other members of the party, who were critical of the prime minister, in addition to Jaak Juske and Peep Peterson. "I think there are a lot of people who cannot accept this situation and even if some of them do not say so, I think that yes, there are a lot of people who are unhappy about it. However, what I am saying is that Kaja Kallas and the Reform Party can find a solution to the situation," the regional affairs minister replied.
"Having resigned myself, and having seen how certain political developments can go if no steps are taken, my message has always been that this decision can and must be taken only by the prime minister and the Reform Party. What that decision will be depends only on the Reform Party and Kaja Kallas," he added.
In a recent interview with ERR, Riigikogu MP and Reform Party deputy chair Jürgen Ligi said that Estonian society needs to calm down when it comes to this issue.
"Well, if society calms down and harmony is restored in the Riigikogu, harmony with the president and harmony in all that ministries, then that certainly would be a solution. However, it is difficult to predict how this situation will be resolved," said Madis Kallas.
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Editor: Michaell Cole
