Less than five weeks following parliamentary elections, Estonia has a new governing coalition. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ liberal business reform party, the Social Democrats (SDE) and the liberal Eesti 200 party voted in Tallinn on Saturday for a coalition agreement that the parties had previously agreed on. The tripartite alliance has a majority of 60 of the 101 seats in the parliament of the EU and NATO country bordering Russia.
“We want Estonia to be protected, the welfare and livelihood of our people to be guaranteed, the state finances to be in order, education, language and culture to be preserved and tomorrow to be better for everyone,” Kallas said. The Reform Party leader will also lead the coming government. Twelve ministers are to sit next to her at the cabinet table – two fewer than before.
The proposed coalition agreement includes an increase in value added tax and income tax and the introduction of a vehicle tax. Marriage equality, climate reforms and closer cooperation with neighboring Baltic and Nordic countries are also planned – including further support for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. For its own security, Estonia’s defense spending should be three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for four years.
Kallas’ Reform Party won a clear victory in the March 5 election, remaining by far the strongest political force in Estonia. Kallas currently leads a tripartite alliance with SDE and the conservative party Isamaa. The Eesti 200 party, founded in 2018, made it into the Riigikogu parliament for the first time.
