"The Reform Party's worldview has collapsed. If the party's core belief is solely low taxes, but at the same time, funding is needed for national defense, then their fundamental doctrines offer no solution. What doomed the previous government was that the Reform Party itself refuses to change and is incapable of offering solutions. So instead, they come up with some new scheme to cover it up," Lauri Läänemets, chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDE), said on ERR's "Otse uudistemajast" webcast Wednesday.

According to Läänemets, additional funding is needed for security, but the Reform Party's solution was to reduce the defense tax. In his view, this means that someone else will have to pay more in the future.

Urmas Reinsalu, chairman of Isamaa, said that the talk about low taxes makes him laugh because, in reality, over one billion euros in tax increases will hit Estonian individuals and businesses this year.

"On top of that, it was announced that the VAT hike, initially promised as temporary, will be made permanent. As one entrepreneur told me, this government lacks courage, but it has an awful lot of audacity," said Reinsalu.

The Isamaa leader added that the Social Democrats are not absolved of responsibility just because a dysfunctional government has now been dismantled.

"It's true that now everyone wants to escape responsibility. I've heard that Kristen Michal is making great efforts to bring in people from outside for the new government. This is meant to legitimize an escape plan through individuals. But I hope the Estonian people will see through it."

Läänemets argued that soon, it will become clear what role the Social Democrats actually played in the previous government.

"If higher education comes under attack, if they start making healthcare paid, if wage increases for police officers, rescue workers and teachers are stopped — then we'll see what role the Social Democrats played. The only issue where they didn't dare to speak up was pensions."

Reinsalu stated that while Kaja Kallas' government hit a dead end in a year, Kristen Michal reached that point much faster.

"The problem is that bad policies are being pursued and there is no leadership. As for the comparison between Kallas and Michal — every person has their own individual characteristics. But from what I've heard from several ministers, Michal is more timid and indecisive than Kallas. Granted, that can be a virtue when it prevents bad decisions from being pushed through. Kallas would have forced offshore wind farms through more aggressively. Michal has taken a different approach and slowed things down, but that doesn't mean the issue is off the table," said Reinsalu.

Läänemets argued that former coalition partners accuse the Social Democrats of blocking various initiatives, which is not true. He pointed out that the Social Democrats proposed creating a working group with businesses, an idea that was criticized by both the Reform Party and Eesti 200. However, now, Prime Minister Kristen Michal has established exactly such a working group under the Government Office.

Läänemets also addressed the heavily criticized energy package and stated that [Minister of Climate] Yoko Alender (Reform) has been unfairly blamed for it, as it was actually prepared by Keit Kasemets and Kristen Michal.

"It was drafted in a vague and noncommittal way because there was no courage. If there had been courage, there would have been clarity. [...] If you want to know why those numbers came up and why there was so much confusion, you should ask Kasemets. Just because he is now the state secretary doesn't mean he is absolved of responsibility."

Since the Reform Party and Eesti 200 coalition holds 52 seats in parliament, they are struggling to fill all committee chair positions with their own members. According to Läänemets, discussions have been held behind the scenes about an unprecedented plan to merge parliamentary committees to address this issue.

"The work of parliament and the coalition's own actions should not be mixed. This also shows that this coalition will not be able to implement its key policies in the future. If you don't have enough votes in the committees, things will get stuck," said Läänemets.

The SDE leader added that he still does not understand Prime Minister Kristen Michal's logic in ousting the Social Democrats from the government and thereby weakening the administration.

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