Michal: I am running for prime minister

Minister of Climate Kristen Michal said he would put himself forward as a prime ministerial candidate at the Reform Party's board meeting on Saturday.
"I have talked with party colleagues from all over Estonia and tomorrow I will be running for the Reform Party's prime ministerial candidate at the meeting," Michal told ERR.
So far, Michal is the only known candidate. Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur said he would not run on Friday.
Michal will present his leadership vision to the Party on Saturday.
"The first important issue is building a secure Estonia, which means that Estonia is firmly protected. The second is leadership. I think people's expectation is that the government should work as a team, the coalition should work as a team. The third issue is certainly economic competitiveness. This is something that concerns me on a daily basis, because in the field of climate and also energy, we come into contact with it quite a lot and create new opportunities. And there are a lot of important areas connected with this – Estonian-language education, how we organize our budget, and so on," said Michal.
Michal believes the current coalition should continue as relations between the members are good. "I would assume so today, but I cannot say that with certainty until we have taken some decisions in the Board," he said.
He said he did not think it possible to have a coalition with only two parties, ruling out the speculation of a new Reform-SDE coalition that would have enough for a slender majority in the Riigikogu.
"The maths of the Riigikogu often says you need a minimum of 54 to 55 votes to cover all committees. And today, actually it's not really possible to have two parties," Michal said.
Speaking about the state budget, the minister said it needs to be made more understandable. "If we have a situation in Riigikogu and a situation in the public where this so-called activity-based budget is not understandable to the public, that is certainly not a satisfactory situation. If even the finance chiefs in Riigikogu, Jürgen Ligi or Aivar Sõerd, say that they can always keep track of all the nuances, then this is certainly not a satisfactory situation," he said.
"The current budget should be accompanied by a version where the public, including the press, can keep track of what is going on, and this will also make the picture easier for decision-makers," Michal said.
The background of new tax policies should also be made clearer to help build trust between the government, the public, and businesses.
The government still faces cuts and they must be agreed by all members. Michal also said an exception should be made for defense,
ERR also asked Michal about what should be changed in the coalition agreement.
"The Coalition Agreement is a somewhat living document in every coalition, and it is constantly revised through different decisions, debates and processes in society. If there is a change of prime minister, the government program will certainly be reviewed," he said.
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Editor: Madis Hindre, Aleksander Krjukov, Helen Wright