The Reform Party office must have an outdated calendar hanging on its wall. Why else are the premier and finance minister acting as if we were still living the days of the noughties' success cult, when we were promised we'd soon be among the five wealthiest countries in Europe.

While Reform's stale rhetoric is no longer compatible with the present, it's all they know, which is why we can still hear calls for the media to dress up its headlines and for the people to stay positive, even though there is no reason to. This kind of wishful thinking borders on snake oil and alternative facts. It's as if the illusion exempts them from work and responsibility, from coming up with ways to liven up the economy and putting them into practice.

At a time when Prime Minister Kristen Michal scolds the media for negative headlines during a government press conference, one cannot help but to be reminded of the evergreen words of former Reform Party PM Andrus Ansip about a crisis he would like to live in.

Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi seems similarly dissatisfied and spends his time ridiculing journalists for "mistaken" reporting on social media. Ligi's main criticism for Kaja Kallas' cabinet was the exaggerated threat of war. The good finance minister is infallible himself, of course, Indeed, it seems a truly brilliant idea to tell everyone that he will not be buying government bonds because he's building a house and has no money.

What this achieves is driving home the truth that bonds are being issued simply to cover current spending. Naturally, everyone else is expected to subscribe out of sheer patriotism. Ligi has also boasted setting boundaries for his PR adviser. Brilliant, how else would the people know what the rulers really think.

The Reform Party's image has always been that of narcissistic infallibility. Unfortunate circumstances and being surrounded by the wrong people are always to blame. The mistake permanently lies elsewhere. Suggesting that while a government minister can spend their €7,000 monthly salary as they see fit, everyone else should pour their savings into government bonds amounts to nothing short of telling the people they're idiots whose money deserves to be taken away, as the government has a better plan for it

Ligi brooks no questions as to where the money ends up. Apparently, the constitution provides that the rulers owe the plebs no explanation. Perhaps some people still remember former Reform minister Rein Lang's legendary quote: "In a situation where everything serves the purpose of pleasing the masses, and we're living in an era of glorifying the plebs, the parliament gets blown up as soon as someone dares mention the wine cellar." It seems that nothing has changed, except instead of the wine cellar, we now have Jürgen Ligi's house.

So, why does Reform's habitual rhetoric that glorifies success and money but hates the common people and poverty seem so controversial today? Because they've abandoned their former principles and gone down the path of suffocating the economy using tax hikes, in the conditions of a recession no less. Progressive businesspeople have gone from loving the Reform Party to detesting it. The party's messaging and tone are falling far behind its actions and the reality of the situation.

Alas, the noughties are over and are not coming back, no matter how hard Jürgen Ligi tries. The global reference system has changed enough for success to no longer happen automatically in the wake of Finland and Sweden. We need fresh thinking, new and innovative ideas and efforts to put them into practice. Instead of taking the already struggling people and business for all they have left, the state needs to wisely borrow with the aim of stimulating the economy.

The people do not care about the Reform Party's image or the positivity and wishful thinking sought by Michal and Ligi. The people want answers.

How to buy ammunition for the Defense Forces when the budget is full of holes that first need patching with money from taxes and bond issues? What about energy? Will we construct wind farms or a nuclear power plant? What about the salaries of teachers and rescuers? What about our rickety healthcare system? While we're boasting how we're preparing for war, who can believe we're ready for much smaller crises in a situation where a few "extra" patients exhaust the capacity of emergency services?

Naturally, the Reform-led government wants reality made to look rosier in news headlines, as that would allow them to breathe easy behind the scenes until the next elections, without constant reminders that while they've been in power for two years, and in two different governments, life has in the meantime gotten worse instead of better.

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