2022 Estonian government crisis
 Kaja Kallas' first cabinet being sworn in | |
| Date | May 2022 – 18 July 2022 |
|---|---|
| Location | Estonia |
| Type | Parliamentary crisis |
| Cause |
|
| Participants | Reform Party, Centre Party |
| Outcome |
|
The 2022 Estonian government crisis was a political event in Estonia that occurred between May and July 2022. It includes the events that follow the introduction of a child benefits bill by the governing Centre Party with the support of the opposition Isamaa, Social Democrats and EKRE but without the support of the senior partner in the coalition, the Reform Party.
The crisis was exacerbated after the Centre Party MPs voted down the education reform bill that had been put forward by the incumbent government of the Reform and Centre parties. It resulted in Prime Minister Kaja Kallas having Centre Party ministers removed from office and running a government of only Reform Party ministers until the inauguration of Kaja Kallas' second cabinet a month later.
Background
The 2019 parliamentary election saw the loss of the absolute majority held by Jüri Ratas's first cabinet in the Riigikogu, the unicameral parliament of Estonia. Ratas's Centre Party, Isamaa, and the Social Democrats all suffered a setback in favour of the Reform Party, led by Kallas, and EKRE.[1] Kersti Kaljulaid, then-president of Estonia, gave a mandate to Kallas to form a government after the election.[2] The Reform Party negotiated with the Centre Party, Isamaa, and SDE but ultimately failed to form a government.[3][4][5] After the vote in April 2019, Ratas received the mandate and successfully formed a government with Isamaa and EKRE.[6] Jüri Ratas's second cabinet was sworn in on 29 April 2019.[7][8]
In January 2021, the Centre Party-led government collapsed after a corruption investigation in which the Centre Party was accused of requesting financial support of up to €1 million within a year in return of the €39 million loan to Hillar Teder's real estate development in Tallinn.[9] In response, Ratas resigned as prime minister of Estonia, while Kallas was invited to form a government.[10] She struck a deal with the Centre Party, with Kallas serving as prime minister.[11]
In January 2022 Jaanus Karilaid, the leader of the Centre Party's parliamentary faction, threatened a government crisis should the Reform Party fail to agree on subsidies to alleviate the then-ongoing energy crisis.[12] An agreement was eventually reached in the same month.[13]
Political crisis
Proposal of the child benefits bill
On 12 May 2022, Karilaid put forward a bill to increase funding for child benefits with the support of MPs from all 3 opposition parties - EKRE, the Social Democrats and Isamaa - but without the support of the Centre Party's coalition partner, the Reform Party.[14] Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party reacted on the same day by accusing the Centre Party of wanting to form a government with EKRE in response to a question about the coalition's health.[15]
In general, it is still the case in poltiics that a government coalition sticks together. If you start doing things outside of the coalition, if you start cooperating with EKRE, then there is a desire to bring it into the EKRE government, there is no other explanation for it.
I don't see any other reason behind it, other than the desire to do something else and with someone else. But I would say, man up then, vote no confidence in me and make this coalition together. What are you messing around for?
— Kaja Kallas
Public Administration minister Jaak Aab of the Centre Party responded that he'd warned the parliamentary faction that putting forward the bill could cause the government to collapse and mentioned that this should've been agreed on beforehand. Aab, Karilaid and Centre Party leader Jüri Ratas all insisted that the goal was not to collapse the government.[15][16][17] In response, Kaja Kallas stated that the Reform Party supports boosting child benefits spending but wants time to discuss the specific bill and ways to cover the budget expenses.[18] Karilaid stated that he wanted the bill to be passed before 24 June, St. John's Day around when the Riigikogu, the national parliament of Estonia, goes on summer break.[17]
On 24 May, Kaja Kallas stated that it had previously been discussed with the Centre Party that the increase in child benefits would be done as part of the budget process for 2023 and urged the Centre Party to try to find a solution inside the government, stating that otherwise the coalition cannot continue. She also raised the issue of Centre Party leader Ratas being difficult to contact due to being in parliament and not a government minister.[19]
On the same day, the daily Eesti Päevaleht reported that several members of the Centre Party had privately complained about Karilaid moving forward with the child benefits bill without communicating with people outside of the party board and parliamentary faction, leaving some ministers and other key people out of the loop on the matter. While all Centre Party MPs had signed onto the bill, some mentioned in private that it had been done in advance. Karilaid conceded that communication could have been done better but insisted that the parliamentary faction was united. He urged Kaja Kallas to convene all party leaders to discuss improving the bill before it came to a vote in less than a week on 30 May.[20][21]
On 26 May, Kaja Kallas compared the actions of the Centre Party to Russia demanding de-escalation from the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating that it's not the Reform Party's responsibility to ease the situation or meet halfway with their coalition partner on the issue of child benefits. She hinted that the party could attempt to stop the passage of the bill by parliamentary obstruction.[22] Reform Party's parliamentary faction leader Mart Võrklaev confirmed that the party would consider the option should the Centre Party not withdraw the bill from consideration until autumn, when the budget for 2023 would be prepared. Karilaid denied the accusation that the Centre Party was bypassing its coalition partner by moving forward with the bill, stating that "[We] will not pass them by, we want to go together. Don't fall behind".[23] The leader of the Social Democrats, Lauri Läänemets, stated in response to the plans of obstruction that the coalition had de facto stopped existing.[24]
Vote on the child benefits bill
On 30 May, the Reform Party put forward a motion to withdraw the proposed child benefits bill which failed 32 to 56.
| 30 May 2022
Vote to withdraw the Family Benefits Act Amendment Act (619 SE)[25] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vote | Parties | Votes |
 Yes
|
Reform Party (32) | 32 / 101
|
 No
|
Centre Party (22), EKRE (19), Isamaa (9) Social Democrats (5), Independent (1) | 56 / 101
|
| Absent/did not vote | Reform Party (2), Centre Party (3), Social Democrats (5), Isamaa (3) | 13 / 101
|
Following the vote, Reform Party's parliamentary faction leader Võrklaev stated that as a result of the vote, there was effectively a Reform Party Minority government in Estonia. Karilaid called on the Reform Party to join the rest of the parties to proceed with the child benefits bill and said that the Centre Party has never talked about a government crisis, stating that only the Reform Party has done so. Isamaa leader Helir-Valdor Seeder stated that he was confused about what's happening in the government.[26] On 31 May, Võrklaev expressed hope in the continuation of the government.[27]
On 1 June, the leader of the Social Democrats, Lauri Läänemets, announced that the party would be withdrawing its signatures from the child benefits bill, stating that "We have received confirmation in recent days that under the guise of the child benefits bill, the Centre Party, together with Isamaa and EKRE, is planning to overthrow the current government". Karilaid responded by accusing the Social Democrats of trying to form a coalition with the Reform Party. In response to the claim, Läänemets stated that such a proposal had not been made.[28] Previously, Seeder had also said that no proposals for a coalition had been made to him or his party.[26]
References
- ^ "Kaja Kallas: Coalition ready for Riigikogu vote on 15 April". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 5 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Reform to begin coalition talks with Centre Party". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Centre rejects Reform's offer to begin coalition talks". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Kallas: Reform to approach Isamaa, Social Democrats next". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Estonian parliament rejects Reform's Kallas as PM". Reuters. 15 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Estonie: Le Premier ministre sortant scelle un accord de coalition tripartite". Mediapart (in French). 7 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Estonia likely to see euroskeptic party brought to power". Associated Press. 17 July 2021. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Nationalist Party Enters Estonia's Government". Voice of America. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Tambur, Silver (13 January 2021). "Estonia's prime minister Jüri Ratas resigns, Kaja Kallas asked to form the government". Estonian World. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Belga, Par (14 January 2021). "Estonie: l'europhile convaincue Kaja Kallas désignée au poste du Premier ministre". Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (in French). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Kallas' coalition votes total second-highest since independence restoration". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. 26 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ ERR (2022-01-14). "Karilaid: kui me energiatoetustes kokku ei lepi, on oht valitsuskriisiks". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ "Valitsus toetas täiendavaid energiahinna leevendusmeetmeid | Eesti Vabariigi Valitsus". valitsus.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-12). "Riigikogu hakkab menetlema Keskerakonna peretoetuste eelnõu". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ a b ERR, Aleksander Krjukov, Madis Hindre, Anne Raiste | (2022-05-12). "Kallas: olge siis mehed ja tehke mulle umbusaldus". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ERR (2022-05-13). "Ratas: peretoetuste eelnõu eesmärk ei ole lõpetada koalitsiooni". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ a b ERR (2022-05-17). "Karilaid: tahame peretoetuste eelnõu vastu võtta ja koalitsiooniga jätkata". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-16). "Kallas palub peretoetuste eelnõu arutamiseks aega". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR, Mirko Ojakivi, Liisu Lass | (2022-05-24). "Kallas: valitsuskriisi saab lahendada ainult Keskerakond". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Keskerakondlased oma juhtidele: tegelege riigiga, mitte ärge kõigutage paati". Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-25). "Karilaid: keskfraktsioon on ühtne ja peretoetuste tõusust ei tagane". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-26). "Reformierakond võib kasutada peretoetuse eelnõu puhul obstruktsiooni". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-27). "Reformierakond hakkab esmaspäeval peretoetuste eelnõu takistama". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR (2022-05-28). "Opositsioon on Reformierakonna obstruktsiooni plaanidest hämmingus". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ plats 1a, Lossi; Tallinn, 15165; Registrikood: 74000101; Tel: +372 631 6331; Faks: +372 631 6334; Protected, email. "Hääletustulemused / kohalolekukontroll". Riigikogu (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
{{cite web}}:|first2=has numeric name (help);|first6=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b ERR, Anne Raiste | (2022-05-30). "Võrklaev: sisuliselt on Eestis vähemusvalitsus". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR, Liisu Lass | (2022-05-31). "Võrklaev hoidus koalitsiooni lõppu kuulutamast". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ ERR, Urmet Kook, Indrek Kiisler | (2022-06-01). "Sotsiaaldemokraadid võtavad perehüvitiste eelnõult allkirjad tagasi". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)