SDE in favor of expressing no confidence in PM

TALLINN - The Estonian Social Democratic Party (SDE) supports the initiative of the Reform Party to bring down Prime Minister Juri Ratas in a confidence vote, while not ruling out expressing no confidence in Interior Minister Mart Helme and Finance Minister Martin Helme either, Postimees reported.  

"With Mart and Martin Helme it is more likely that some deputies from the Center Party or Isamaa will act in accordance with their conscience and support the no-confidence motion," the secretary general of SDE, Rannar Vassiljev, said. As that would mean the bell tolling for the current government, SDE prefers expressing no confidence in the Helmes. 

According to Vassiljev, SDE has been critical of the present government since its formation and plenty of more reasons for that have emerged during the slightly over one hundred days that the government has been in office. 

"Unfortunately, it seems that the prime minister's bowl of patience is getting bigger at the same pace with the last drops the Helme family is adding to it and never overflows," he added.

 Vassiljev said that to help the prime minister make the decision on dissolving his government, SDE also supports the motion of no-confidence against Juri Ratas being planned by the Reform Party. The two opposition parties of the current parliament will sit together to make arrangements for an emergency sitting of the Riigikogu as soon as possible.

The plans of SDE largely depend on what becomes of the initiative of the Reform Party. It is likely that the motion of no confidence against Juri Ratas will fail. Vassiljev said that SDE doesn't rule out coming out with a similar motion against the Helmes. 

Following an illegal attempt to remove director general of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board Elmar Vaher from office, the board of the opposition Reform Party on Saturday decided to call together an extraordinary session of the Riigikogu to express no confidence in the prime minister.

"Estonia does not have a functioning government and the prime minister is responsible for this. Government ministers are crossing the limits of their power, completely disregarding laws and regulations, basically spitting on the rule of law, and the prime minister looks at this and says that everything is fine," Reform Party leader Kaja Kallas said.

According to Kallas, the prime minister is responsible for this confusion as well as for previous confusions, and this is why the party decided to express no confidence in Prime Minister Juri Ratas.

Prime Minister Juri Ratas, who met with Interior Minister Mart Helme and Finance Minister Martin Helme on Friday evening, emphasized that the attempt to dismiss director general of the Police and Border Guard Board Elmar Vaher was completely unacceptable.

He did, however, pose with Mart and Martin Helme and Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps from the Center Party for a photograph the same evening, declaring continuation of cooperation, Postimees observed.