Reform's deputy mayor, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, denied the party would be siding with Center on the issue, while Ossinovski said the developments were a kind of electioneering ahead of this autumn's local government elections.

Reform is in office in Tallinn with the Social Democrats (SDE), Isamaa and Eesti 200, all of whom criticized Reform's actions, in the context of the under-process supplementary budget in Tallinn.

Speaking at a city government press conference on Tuesday, Ossinovski said: "Naturally, it came as a bit of a surprise to us that at this serious stage, when significant reforms need to be adopted, a kind of pre-election frolic has emerged in the city council, which surely accompanies elections, but perhaps a little too early given the seriousness of the moment. We certainly hope that the issues raised here can be resolved through cooperation."

"We drafted the supplementary budget that just passed its first reading at the city council, together with all four partners. And while it may sometimes seem that if an agreement isn't reached within the coalition, one might go ask the opposition for a few extra votes, upon reflection it is clear: A party can't be in two coalitions at once," the mayor continued.

"We hope that in the coming days we'll find clarity and move forward together with implementing these very important reforms," he added.

Deputy mayor and head of the Reform Party's Tallinn branch Pärtel-Peeter Pere responded said that he still hopes to reach an agreement on scrapping kindergarten fees, adding that this has long been a Reform Party goal, which it has held to consistently.

Pere said: "This hasn't come suddenly or as a surprise. We couldn't reach an agreement on it at the city government, so it went to the city council, and the council always proposes amendments — factions do that. And so did the Reform Party faction, proposing an amendment along with a funding source for this year — where we would find the money."

Pere added that "less could be spent on trees" in the capital, given the low birth rate. Local government "should do everything it can to make it possible and attractive to raise children and start families here," Pere added.

Pere said his party wanted to keep its distance from the Center Party and would not be relying on the Center vote for that amendment or for the supplementary budget.

"What the Center Party does — you can ask them. I don't know," he continued.

"The Reform Party faction will not support the Center Party's amendment to abolish kindergarten fees in the Tallinn city council," he continued, adding: "We want to resolve this with coalition partners' votes and reach an agreement. We certainly didn't want to start this election circus."

Pere, too, expressed a desire to find a solution.

Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) also commented briefly on the issue, saying: "If one partner has developed a taste for political games before the election on a particular issue, I believe we will still overcome it together, as major decisions must be made at the last city council session."

Center and Reform both issued press releases at almost the same time on Monday on amendments to the Tallinn supplementary budget on the abolition of kindergarten fees in Tallinn, prompting criticism from Deputy Mayor Karl Sander Kase (Isamaa) as well as from Ossinovski and Jašin.

The supplementary budget passed its first reading at Tallinn city council last week.

Supplementary budgets are issued at local and national government level to top up the main annual budget where needed.

The bulk of the €8.2 million in the supplementary budget in Tallinn would, if it passes, be spent on emergency shelters, and bring the overall budget for 2025 in the capital to €1.3 billion.

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