Foreign minister: Good chance the government will continue without SDE

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) stated that everyone is tired of the ongoing bickering within the government and that there is a significant likelihood that the government will continue with two parties, excluding the Social Democrats.
"Everyone is tired of the bickering that has been going on for some time now, especially in a situation where we need to make not only security policy decisions but also jumpstart the economy and make life in Estonia easier," Tsahkna told the "Terevisioon" morning show Monday.
According to Tsahkna, the likelihood that the government will continue with only two coalition partners is quite high, but a final decision will come after the coalition council meets at 1 p.m. on Monday.
"But I think it would be easier [for the government] to make ideological decisions, which entrepreneurs and the Estonian people would find easier to understand," Tsahkna indicated, signaling his support for Reform Party and Eesti 200 continuing as a two-party government after ousting the Social Democrats.
"What has been happening behind the scenes for the past few months is not something the Estonian people are happy about. I think this is fundamentally an ideological conflict — one party is pulling to the left while two are pulling to the right. That's the real problem and it needs to end," Tsahkna promised.
He explained that the two center-right parties, Reform Party and Eesti 200, share a similar vision for economic policies, favoring lower taxes, fewer regulations and reduced state subsidies for energy. In contrast, the Social Democrats stand by their left-leaning ideology and advocate for the opposite approach.
When asked whether this ideological divide was already apparent when the Social Democrats were included in the coalition, Tsahkna said that when the Reform Party, Eesti 200 and the Social Democratic Party (SDE) formed their government in 2023, he warned then-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) that such a conflict was inevitable.
"But since the economic crisis has worsened and major decisions have not been made even under [current Prime Minister] Michal's leadership, we cannot continue like this. That is my sense of the situation," Tsahkna said.
The Social Democratic Party has promised to present three proposals at Monday's coalition council meeting: a €1 billion economic stimulus package, a review of the yet-to-be-implemented tax changes and a more ambitious national defense plan.
Like Reform Party Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev, Tsahkna does not take these proposals seriously.
"Our committees discussed these issues a long time ago and we already know exactly what needs to be done to revive the economy. That was when Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) was a minister in Kaja Kallas' government. We need to make decisions — decisions about bringing in skilled labor, which has been stalled for months. We need to decide what to do about energy and energy prices. But to pull another billion out of thin air and set up yet another committee to figure out what to do with it — excuse me, but that is the last thing our economy and businesses need," Tsahkna said.
If the current coalition collapses and Reform Party and Eesti 200 continue alone, they would have a narrow majority in parliament. In the last Riigikogu elections, the Reform Party won 37 seats, but they can also count on Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, who defected from the Center Party, and Alar Laneman, who left EKRE. This gives them 39 MPs. Eesti 200 initially secured 14 seats, but after expelling Züleyxa Izmailova, their parliamentary group shrank to 13 members. In total, Reform Party and Eesti 200 could rely on 52 votes, securing a slim majority in the 101-seat Riigikogu.
The government crisis kicked off in earnest when Prime Minister Kristen Michal suggested last week that because SDE have engaged in slowing down processes and incomprehensible initiatives only adding to red tape during their time in the government, the Reform Party is theoretically prepared to continue ruling with just junior partner Eesti 200.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Urmet Kook