President Alar Karis has accepted Prime Minister Kalas’s request for the removal of the seven ministers, according to a statement from the Estonian presidency.
The ruling coalition in Estonia collapsed todayafter center-right Prime Minister Kaya Callas fired seven ministers from the Center Party, following disagreements over welfare policy.
The president Alar Caris accepted the request of the Prime Minister Kalas for the expulsion of the seven ministers, according to an announcement by the presidency of Estonia.
Until the formation of a new coalition, executives of the ruling Reform Party of Kala will replace the dismissed ministers, according to a government statement.
The Reform Party has 34 of the 101 seats in the Estonian Parliament and could continue as a minority government without the 25-seat Center Party.
The Prime Minister of Kalas has expressed her intention for exploratory talks with the center-right Christian Democratic Party “Patrida” and the Social Democrats, which have 12 and 10 seats respectively.
Kala’s dispute with its former government partners started after the Center Party’s demand for increases in family allowances and child allowances, with which the prime minister’s party did not agree.
Among the seven ministers ousted are Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Limetz and Interior Minister Christian Gianni.
The 44-year-old Kaya Kalas has led the Reform Party since 2018 and took over as Prime Minister in 2021. The next parliamentary elections in Estonia are scheduled for March 2023.
