Being in the opposition for the first time since early 2023 is not a matter of life and death for the party, Läänemets, who had been interior minister until Monday, went on.

In any case, it is highly likely that, given Reform and Eesti 200's current ratings, SDE will soon be needed to take part in a new coalition, he added.

Speaking to "Esimene stuudio," Läänemets said: "We know that our time will come relatively soon as, taking into consideration the ratings and the situation of the continuing government, at the latest in two years' time, one or another party will need SDE as a partner with which to form a government."

Eesti 200 is likely to be riven with further internal issues, he said.

"I would say even sooner than that, as Eesti 200 will go through its internal shake-up in 2026, and this lame cat which is currently being formed will already need support," Läänemets went on.

Reflecting on Monday's brief coalition council meeting in which it was announced that SDE would be ejected from office, Läänemets said Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) put the reasons fairly succinctly.

"When I asked what the issue was, he said that now they can push through a right-wing agenda."

This for Läänemets was vindication, not condemnation.

"For us, this is a great recognition," he continued.

"The things that got used as excuses /.../ But there were things we really didn't let through: For example, we didn't allow pension cuts. We didn't allow higher education to go paid only. One thing we certainly didn't allow for was the introduction of private funds into healthcare."

"Let me translate that — a rise in people's out-of-pocket expenses, which are already the highest in Europe, in Estonia. These are the things we didn't allow to take place, but most likely, these are the things the new coalition will start doing," Läänemets continued.

While the prime minister is excellent at maintaining personal relationships, his execution of agreed matters leaves much to be desired, Läänemets said.

"We agreed on certain things—we push forward, forward, forward, but they never come to fruition. He knows how to smooth it over somehow," he said, giving as an example novel taxes to be imposed by local government; SDE's Piret Hartman had been regional minister.

Läänemets said that Michal had been dismissive when asked about why SDE was getting blamed for this.

The SDE chair also contrasted Michal with his predecessor, Kaja Kallas. Whereas the latter digested the content of bills, Michal "looked at whether they aligned with the party's ratings or not," he added.

That Michal reportedly informally invited opposition party Isamaa to join Reform and Eesti 200 in coalition came as no surprise to Läänemets.

"I think that was Kristen Michal's first preference," for coalition partner, Läänemets went on.

In the fall, we talked (with Michal), and I told him that if you don't manage to raise your ratings, the logical step for you is to try to get Isamaa into the government. (But Isamaa's chairman) Urmas Reinsalu has completely ruled out cooperation with Kristen Michal," said Läänemets.

Holding off-schedule elections on an extraordinary basis, given the next Riigikogu election is in 2027, could be discussed, Läänemets said.

This had been raised by Isamaa, which has topped the ratings according to most pollsters in Estonia for several months now.

However, this might be getting one step ahead of things as "Esimene stuudio" host Andres Kuusk noted: Constitutional scope for holding extraordinary elections, much talked about but never done since the restoration of independence over 30 years ago, is limited, and a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister would need to come ahead of that, a fact which Läänemets acknowledged.

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