- The party councils of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ pro-business Reform Party, the centrist Estonia 200 party and the Social Democratic Party said they would form a coalition
- Kallas will remain as prime minister
- Kallas has led European Union and NATO member Estonia since January 2021, becoming the first female head of government in the Baltic country of 1.3 million
TALLINN, Estonia: Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has announced that her center-right Reform Party, along with two other parties, will form a coalition government, five weeks after the country’s general election was held on 5th March.
After agreeing on government programs for the next four years following extensive discussions, the party councils of Kallas’ pro-business Reform Party, which won Estonia’s election with 31.2 percent of the vote, the centrist Estonia 200 party and the Social Democratic Party said they would form a coalition. Kallas will remain as prime minister.
“This agreement ensures that Estonia is protected, that we can continue as an independent and self-sustaining country,” said Kallas.
Kallas, 45, has led European Union and NATO member Estonia since January 2021, becoming the first female head of government in the Baltic country of 1.3 million.
The Reform Party was also the senior partner in the outgoing three-party government formed with the Social Democrats and the conservative Isamaa party.
“We want Estonia to be protected, the well-being and livelihood of our people to be guaranteed, the state’s finances to be in order, education, language and culture to be preserved, and tomorrow to be better for everyone,” Kallas added.
“A lot depends on how the war in Ukraine will go. So I hope that Ukraine wins the war and Russia goes back to its territory,” she noted.
The formal signing of the coalition pact will take place this week. Kallas will hand in the resignation of her outgoing government to President Alar Karis, who will then appoint her as a prime minister designate, followed by a confidence vote on the new Cabinet by lawmakers in the Riigikogu.
