In Estonia on Monday, March 10, the ruling coalition broke up – the Social Democratic Party (SDP) announced the exit from the government. This was stated at a press conference by Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
According to the head of government, the disagreements inside the coalition slowed down the decision -making process.
“There were two right-wing and one left-wing parties in the government, which made it impossible to quickly make decisions at a time when Estonia needs to move forward,” Mikhal noted.
Key initiatives of the new government
After the release of the SDP, the Prime Minister presented the priorities of the future office, which will be formed on the basis of the Union of the Party of Reforms and the Estonia 200 Party.
Michal emphasized that one of the main tasks of the new coalition is a revision of the tax policy.
It is planned to increase corporate income taxes, while income tax for individuals will remain unchanged.
Another important area will be a constitutional reform, according to which the citizens of Russia and Belarus who are permanently residing in Estonia will lose the right to vote in municipal elections.
In addition, the new office intends to increase the country’s defense budget to 5 percent of GDP, the Prime Minister emphasized.
Michal noted that already on Tuesday, March 11, he will introduce Estonia President Alara Karis with candidates for the new government.
Despite the release of the Social Democrats, the ruling coalition retains a small parliamentary majority – 52 mandates out of 101.
Estonian media previously reported an increase in the contradictions between the reform and the SDP, which made the collapse of the coalition expected.
Eesti ekspress noted that the tension inside the coalition intensified, especially after the prime minister’s sharp statements to the Social Democrats.
Postimees newspaper emphasized that one of the key factors of the crisis was the fall of the ratings of the ruling alliance and delaying decisions on economic issues.