Kolvart to president: Trust in Estonian PM is gone

TALLINN – In a meeting with President Alar Karis on Wednesday morning, chairman of the opposition Center Party Mihhail Kolvart said that confidence in Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has already been lost.

The president and Kolvart, party leader and the mayor of Tallinn, discussed the deadlock in the Riigikogu.

"I have to admit that the situation we're having right now does not suit the people of Estonia, the Center Party or democracy, but it suits both the Reform Party and EKRE," Kolvart said, referring to the senior member of the government coalition and the Estonian Conservative People's Party (EKRE), the largest opposition force in parliament.  

"One of them can use the filibuster to talk about extraordinary elections and be in the picture as if the leader of the confrontation. The other has been given the green light to tie every draft to a vote of confidence in the government, thereby circumventing the parliament's proposals and substantive debate," Kolvart said.

He said that the pre-election game of who is the most just and the best is continuing in the Riigikogu.

"Maybe it's just that neither of them can let go of their pre-election role and focus on the real issues: economic growth, coping of the Estonian people, price increases. It is quite likely that the prime minister is not going to step down herself anytime soon, and there will certainly not be an early election. The work of the Riigikogu meanwhile is stalled at a time when very difficult challenges should addressed," Kolvart said.

According to Kolvart, the coalition has a chance to get out of this stalemate, because at this point two key issues are being decided that are causing confrontation and tensions in society: the car tax, and pay rise for teachers.

"If the coalition abandons the car tax and raises teachers' salaries according to their demands and expectations, it would also be difficult for the opposition, including EKRE, to explain why law-making and debate are being put on pause altogether. Not to mention that it would also relieve tensions in society," Kolvart noted.

"However, these tensions have clearly accumulated. In two weeks, more than 23,000 people have signed the Center Party's petition on the rahvaalgatus.ee website calling on the prime minister to resign. In addition, signatures are collected in the party's tents. This clearly shows that the government and the current prime minister need to listen and find solutions. Trust in the prime minister is gone. However, trust in parliament and in the governance of the state must not be lost," Kolvart added.