SDE's board made the announcement against the backdrop of a rift between it and the Reform and Eesti 200 parties, on the surface primarily on the issues of cutting bureaucracy, management of the economy, restricting the voting rights of third-country nationals, and in general not wholly following the coalition agreement signed last summer.

The three coalition parties combined, according to one recent survey, polled lower than the opposition Isamaa party did on its own.

SDE says the accusations from its coalition partners are shortsighted and irresponsible.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) on Friday said that SDE has been stalling processes and pursuing incomprehensible initiatives in government, to the extent that his party is theoretically prepared to continue governing with Eesti 200 alone if SDE does not change course.

This prompted the SDE board to convene on Friday evening.

The following declaration stated that the period in office since 2022 has required compromises and difficult decisions from all coalition partners.

Ideological battles must be set aside temporarily in difficult times, the board added.

"In times of uncertainty, we need a stable government which provides society with a sense of security, not one entangled in the hocus pocus of ratings and mutual accusations," the party stated.

The board called the current attacks from SDE's coalition partners hypocritical.

"The SDE chair, Lauri Läänemets, had already proposed to the Prime Minister on January 21 that the government's work should primarily focus on ensuring security and supporting the economy, while reviewing other governmental activities if necessary," the statement continued.

"Ahead of Estonian Independence Day, we agreed to start more concrete discussions on this theme on March 10. Consequently, the current attacks and accusations are hypocritical. We were and remain ready to make the necessary decisions to better respond to the changed foreign and security policy situation," the declaration added.

"SDE has been constantly consulting between themselves amid changing geopolitical conditions in recent months, and we are ready to share our proposals with coalition partners too. Naturally, we continue to support the rapid increase of defense spending to five percent of GDP, including by using greater flexibility within the EU budget rules."

"We have supported defense loans both in Estonia and at the EU level for years. We consider developing an economic stimulus plan to increase investments and support Estonian businesses as necessary. Equally important in times of crisis is supporting the livelihoods of the people of Estonia," SDE continued.

The attacks from coalition partners relate to the party's own current low ratings.

"Obviously, the recent media attacks are not really about bureaucratic trivialities. The issue is the jitteriness caused by the coalition partners' low ratings. Our own rating has also suffered, but in the current situation, government parties cannot afford to be erratic due to rating anxieties."

The statement concluded: "The coalition partners' hope of boosting their ratings by blaming SDE for everything and dismantling the government is shortsighted and irresponsible. How can we credibly talk to society about security and stability when our governments last less than a year?"

This week, the prime minister criticized a regulation sponsored by regional minister Piret Hartman (SDE) which would, critics say, heighten the bureaucratic documentation required when donating certain categories of foodstuffs to food banks.

SDE is holding out for permitting stateless persons, known colloquially as gray passport holders, to retain the right to vote in local elections.

In the same poll noted above, SDE polled at 11.3 percent, placing it fourth out of the six Riigikogu parties, while Eesti 200's rating stood at just 2.8 percent.

The two parties have roughly the same number of seats, around a dozen, at the Riigikogu when taking into account defections that have occurred since the election two years ago and that some MPs vote with a party group without being a member of that group or the party.

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