Centre Party leader calls early elections in Estonia a realistic possibility
Centre Party leader Mihhail Kõlvart said that early parliamentary elections in Estonia remain a realistic possibility. In his view, replacing ministers six months before the regular elections, as well as crises in several sectors, indicate the need to hold a vote earlier.
As ERR News reports, Kõlvart linked his position to personnel changes in the government. Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur and Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt, who represent the Reform Party, are set to leave their posts.
Criticism of the coalition
Kõlvart believes that the current governing coalition can no longer be preserved even through personnel reshuffles. He also suggested that the situation within the Reform Party may be unstable, while the ministers’ decisions not to continue their political activity, in his view, indicate that they lack a vision for the party’s future.
The Centre Party leader referred to the coalition’s low level of support and a scandal in the defence sector. In his assessment, there are also problems in education, healthcare and energy. Kõlvart stressed that political responsibility for the situation in defence should not be limited to just one minister.
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Prospects for an early vote
According to Kõlvart, public trust in both the government and the Riigikogu is at a record low. He believes that early elections would make it possible to address problems systematically rather than appoint new ministers on the eve of an election campaign.
Kõlvart noted that the Social Democrats do not support the idea of an early vote. At the same time, he called this scenario realistic, as Estonia has a minority government and the opposition has more votes in the Riigikogu than the parties in the governing coalition.
Speaking about the Riigikogu elections scheduled for March, the politician said that their outcome cannot be predicted. He added that the Centre Party’s goal is to enter the government, while he effectively ruled out the possibility of cooperation with the Reform Party in the next coalition.
