Participants were: Martin Helme (EKRE), , Mihhail Kõlvart (Center), Tanel Kiik (SDE), Maris Lauri (Reform), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) and Toomas Uibo (Eesti 200).

The panel, moderated by Liisu Lass, honed in on the challenges of managing Estonia's current budget deficit, and differing opinions on approaches to tax policy and austerity measures.

The line of questioning opened by asking Helme how much "air" remains in the state budget, and where cuts might be made.

Helme's response was that the problem lay in overspending and corruption.

He said: "If you want to spend €2.4 billion more compared with that planned each year and reroute funds to your friends, then there's nothing to be done."

"Then we can raise €200 million through cuts, VAT and income tax, and it still wouldn't be enough."

"There is no wealthy society, no rich country that wouldn't go bankrupt if it were governed by corrupt individuals and thieves. Simply this kind of expense has to stop. Billions are going to Rail Baltic, billions are going on the green transition. I don't know how many hundreds or tens of millions are going to various NGOs. This has to stop," he added.

At the same time Helme said that Ukraine support needs to be reviewed.

"The Ministry of Finance sent us a table," the EKRE leader continued.

"Every year that Kaja Kallas was prime minister, our budget deficit was between €1 billion and €1.5 billion. We had to borrow more money. And now we are looking at the next state budget strategy for the next four years – it will never go below €1.1 billion, and in some years it will reach €2 billion. But these are the numbers they talk about while using rhetoric about how they have hiked taxes and will balance the budget and start boosting economic growth and competitiveness. This is just a fairy tale, that they're spinning us," Helme said.

According to Helme, Estonia has a spending problem, rather than a revenue problem.

Co-host Andres Kuusk then quizzed Maris Lauri, a former justice minister, why the cuts are being made with a "ruler" and whether coalition partners can't reach an agreement on substance.

"Yes, unfortunately, that's how the story goes. Like we are seeing right now, everyone says we need to make exceptions, while most of the ministers are not seriously ready to deal with so-called 'their own pot,' as it were."

"Political scales also play a role here. They don't want to do any substantive analysis; everyone has their so-called red lines. But when it comes to the point where we say we should revise this or that, do something differently, they then say no, that is not possible," Lauri said.

"Our budget deficit's cause is that we are living beyond our means. We are spending much more than we are taking in in taxes. This means that to balance things out, we either need to raise taxes or reduce spending. And if we look at the spending side, what's primarily causing the deficit, this means various social expenses, healthcare costs. And in these areas, there is no willingness to make cuts. That's simply the way it is. Of course, we could cut things elsewhere, like in education or security, but then the same questions arise. So making cuts using a 'ruler' becomes very simple," Lauri continued.

Tanel Kiik meanwhile said that more money is required in the social services sector. "To talk about taking money away from or cutting large parts of it, well I don't think there's really much room for cuts there.

"There is the occasional place where millions, at the most tens of millions, can be saved, and that is what is being done. Perhaps €100 to €200 million, which is the goal for the coming years, can be had, but to state there's a billion or two billion lying around, well that's not the case," Kiik continued.

According to Kiik, Estonia as a state has a relatively low tax burden, and the issue is more about how the tax burden is distributed. "We should be taxing the wealthier parts of society more, including assets in that. We must take a systemic look at this, with the aim of rendering the tax system both more profitable from the state's perspective, but also fairer."

According to Reinsalu, the main problem in Estonia is that the economy has been in freefall for such a long time.

He said: "Isamaa's proposal last year, this spring, and again I repeat: The government has agreed to reach a 10 percent reduction in operating expenses within three years. My proposal is to implement this reduction in real-time. Impose cost limits at the governmental level right now and implement a negative budget. Then it will also result in real financial savings."

"There's been plenty of rhetoric about reducing operating expenses for a year, but in reality, budget volumes have gone up," Reinsalu went on.

"You transferred €750 million of unused funds from last year to this year. Save half of that money, promptly and concretely. Take a step so that society sees that your policy is not about tax hikes, about taking over a billion euros from people next year, but that you also have a political approach to managing operating expenses," Reinsalu added.

According to Mihhail Kõlvart, cuts have already reached the social sector via the supplementary budget issued earlier this year.

The Center Party leader and former mayor of Tallinn said: "This an interesting picture whereby representatives of the coalition are standing here, and they are all talking more like an opposition.

"This long-term planning saga is honestly so time-worn, yet to this day we haven't seen any concrete projects, let alone programs. The need for a different tax policy, a progressive income tax, a bank tax, which the Center Party has repeatedly proposed; abandoning the removal of the tax hump once and for all. So why not go ahead and do it, why just talk about it?" said Kõlvart.

"But it is also the case that there has been no analysis. There's not a single impact analysis on additional taxes, let alone a combined impact analysis. How does each tax influence inflation, consumer confidence, and price formulation?" added Kõlvart.

Toomas Uibo of Eesti 200 acknowledged that cuts are also due in education. "As of today, the Minister of Education's plan is to cut €80 million to €85 million over the next three years. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is to do the same. The Minister of Justice is also fulfilling their task. We are cutting 5 percent next year, then three, and then two. The problem is that there are ministers who believe that 95 percent of their budget lies outside the scope of cuts. And that's what we have to deal with today."

Eesti 200 holds the three ministerial portfolios Uibo referred to.

"Within the coalition we have agreed not to make cuts to defense or pensions, but we need to make support and the entire social sector as needs-based as is possible," Uibo said.

Kiik emphasized that the Social Democrats consider it key to continue index-linking pensions. "In indexing, we provide the elderly with a sense of security during crisis," Kiik, a former social affairs minister, said.

However, Uibo said that all options must be on the table at present. "If we can't agree on completely abolishing indexing, we should at least think about making it more gradual. Because the situation is really serious."

Maris Lauri had previously said that indexing was a topic which could be revisited.

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