Lauri Laats (Center) has said he will consult the three opposition parties on a potential no-confidence motion against Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi.

Laats, chair of the Center Party's Riigikogu group, criticized Ligi for downplaying the Riigikogu's role during the first reading of the state budget.

He added that Ligi's behavior contributes to declining public trust in government and called Reform's conduct damaging to society.

"Jürgen Ligi cannot continue as finance minister; it would be wise for Reform to recall him before he does something more embarrassing," Laats said.

Laats also criticized Ligi's rejection of criticism while indiscriminately attacking others. He highlighted that even members of Ligi's own party are unhappy with the 2025 state budget, which Ligi himself called unclear and full of questionable items.

Laats stressed the need for respectful engagement with the legislature, accusing Ligi of forgetting the principle of separation of powers. He noted that, unlike ministers, MPs are elected by the people and have the right to know how taxpayer funds get spent. "A minister's duty is to engage in parliamentary debate and treat MPs with respect," he said.

Laats further accused Reform of exhibiting "masters of the universe" syndrome, where dissenting views are publicly dismissed, damaging society.

On Thursday, Ligi criticized the Riigikogu's low level of debate on the budget, justifying limiting its role in the process. He claimed MPs' questions were filled with misinformation, making it hard to manage state finances.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) and Riigikogu Finance Committee Chair Annely Akkermann (Reform) defended Ligi.

Akkermann said: "The Riigikogu's role is to make decisions at a higher level of generalization," restating remarks she had made earlier in the week. Minister Tsahkna simply said: "I largely agree with what the finance minister said."

Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) leader Martin Helme referred to Ligi's speech before the Riigikogu Wednesday as a "new low in Estonian politics," which merits a vote of no-confidence.

At the same time, it was the minister's usual M.O., he said.

"Ligi's behavior is no surprise to me. His interactions with members of the Riigikogu at the finance committee are pitched at exactly the same level," Helme said.

"The committee should be that place where, without too strict a regime, bills can be examined for their substance, further questions can be asked, with no time limit, and with officials present to help clarify details."

"None of this can be done with Ligi at the finance committee," Helme continued.

"This is due to the fact that he mainly focuses there on insulting and deriding those who ask questions, while his responses redact down to such and extent that the question becomes so stupid that it's not worth answering," said Helme.

"Now, the Riigikogu's main chamber, plus the entire public, have witnessed who is drawing a salary for the position of finance minister. Yokels will always be yokels," the EKRE leader, himself a former finance minister, added.

Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu later said that his party has no confidence in Jürgen Ligi's policies or style, so if Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) does not suggest Ligi steps down, the latter will be facing a no-confidence vote next week.

He said: "Isamaa has no trust in Ligi's policies, style, or objectives. So my call to Ligi and to the prime minister is that if Ligi doesn't make the decision [to step down] himself, the prime minister should put it to him.

"And if this doesn't happen over the weekend, he will face a vote of no confidence next week, and I believe Isamaa should join in. I think that would be appropriate," said Reinsalu.

"While budget transparency and quality were previously seen as technical issues, Ligi has now explicitly declared that this is not a technical inability to structure the budget properly or make it constitutional and transparent, but the government's actual intent."

"The state budget must be obscured because the Riigikogu lacks the competence to make substantive decisions," Reinsalu went on, characterizing Ligi's stance as he sees it.

In this situation it is unthinkable Ligi should remain finance minister; he should acknowledge his inappropriate behavior, apologize, and resign, allowing the Riigikogu to send the signal that they do not agree with this way of doing things, Reinsalu added.

A no-confidence motion requires a minimum of 21 signatories to be put to the floor, and an absolute majority for it to carry. The opposition (including independents) has 46 seats at the 101-seat Riigikogu.

As with many northern European nations but unlike, for instance, Canada or the U.K., government ministers in Estonia do not sit in parliament. They do however regularly appear before committees, during ceremonial events and, as here, to answer questions from delegates.

The separation of powers Laats referred to evokes the nominal set-up in the U.S., where executive, legislature and judiciary are supposed not to encroach on one another. In the U.K., the phrase balance of powers may be a closer summation of, again, what has historically been the case.

Ligi became finance minister this summer with the second Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition under Prime Minister Kristen Michal. He had held the role until November 2014. Neither he nor Helme have been strangers to rhetoric down the years.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from Martin Helme and from Urmas Reinsalu.

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