Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas submitted her resignation to President Alar Karis after being appointed as the next EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, according to Euractiv.
Later this summer, she will also step down as leader of the Reform Party, but will formally remain head of the Estonian government until the new coalition is sworn in.
The president will now hold talks with the various political parties to share responsibility for forming the government. The task is usually assigned to the largest party in the Riigikogu (the Estonian parliament). Currently, the Reform Party is in charge.
I would now like to hear the opinions of all parliamentary parties on who they think will be able to form a workable majority government, given the strengths of the Riigikogu. Estonia needs a government that will govern and make decisions that will help to turn the economy around, ensure our security and thus the sense of coping of the Estonian people.
Kristen Michal, the Reform Party’s candidate for prime minister, is expected to become the country’s next leader.
After disappointing results in the European elections, in which Kallas’ party came third, she recently faced calls for her resignation from the opposition over the Estonian government’s inability to meet the country’s need to spend at least 1.6 billion euros to overcome a “critical” ammunition shortage.
Her government also raised taxes and made unpopular budget cuts in the private sector shortly after the 2023 election, as well as legalising same-sex marriage, the move opposed by almost half the country.
Her potential successor, Michal, also encountered scandals. In 2012, he was accused of money laundering and illegal party funding. However, the charges were dropped in 2015 due to lack of evidence.
The new government is expected to take office in early August.
