Raik represents the Respekt electoral alliance – such groupings are a peculiarity of local politics in Estonia – and made the announcement together with controversial local politician Mihhail Stalnuhhin, representing the Narva electoral alliance.

"We have reached a coalition agreement today," Raik said during the joint press conference with Stalnuhhin.

Raik, who has been Narva mayor twice before, most recently up to September this year, said she hoped it would bring stability to the largely Russian-speaking town, whose politics are notably more rambunctious than those in Estonia as a whole.

"We chose our partner based on stability and reliability in negotiations. I hope that for the next 10 months, Narva's city government will be stable," Raik went on.

Stalnuhhin, who Raik has said will be council chair, began the press conference with a summary of the negotiations, which he gave in the Russian language.

He and Raik answered questions in both languages, though when answers to questions were given in Russian, simultaneous translation into Estonian was not provided.

The coalition pact has been signed by 19 city council members, Stalnuhhin added (this gives it a council majority – ed.).

Stalnuhhin stated he will act in line with the constitution and legislation in city governance but reaffirmed his unchanged views on controversial issues such as the 2022 relocation to the national war museum of a World War Two-era tank, which had previously served as a war memorial and meeting point at its old location just north of the town.

On his stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Stalnuhhin said: "Why are you asking me? Does it depend on me? I am against the war."

Raik, who at the press conference stressed the importance of Estonian-language education quality, clarified that Narva would not obstruct state language transition policies, despite their absence in the Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition agreement.

Negotiations on the new coalition included the Center Party, but ultimately formed with Raik's SDE/Respekt faction and Stalnuhhin's Narva faction only.

Stalnuhhin was expelled in 2022 from the Center Party, previously the dominant party in Narva.

Center's relative decline there left a power vacuum of sorts which have led to many changes in local government since the 2021 municipal elections; until last week, though, Center had held the mayoral post, in Jaan Toots.

SDE's Riigikogu whip Priit Lomp earlier on Monday expressed opposition to the planned coalition headed by Raik, while the party's leader, and interior minister, Lauri Läänemets last week in effect said that the embryonic Narva coalition is the better of two evils.

Just prior to his expulsion from the Center Party, Stalnuhhin had referred to those, including then prime minister Kaja Kallas (Reform), who were pressing on with the removal of Soviet-era monuments and other installations in Estonia, as "Nazis."

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