Estonian opposition submits no-confidence motion against Michal government

Three opposition parties in Estonia’s parliament will submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Kristen Michal’s government on Wednesday, ERR reports. The motion is backed by members of the Centre Party, Isamaa and the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia, as well as nine MPs who do not belong to a parliamentary group.

The motion’s sponsors say the Reform Party and Estonia 200 coalition government has been dogged by repeated scandals that have weakened public trust in the state and reinforced the view that Michal has failed as prime minister.

Centre Party parliamentary group leader Lauri Laats cited a recent Government Office public opinion survey, according to which 51 percent of people feel financially insecure and 85 percent worry about rising everyday costs. He said the government was not listening to people’s concerns, including calls to cut fuel and food prices and taxes that weigh on the economy. Laats also said planned tax increases after the 2027 parliamentary election would make matters worse.

Isamaa parliamentary group leader Helir-Valdor Seeder said the government had weakened trust in Estonia both at home and abroad, particularly in national defence. He cited the current shell brokerage crisis and said the government had repeatedly disregarded military advice from the commander of the Defence Forces, including on developing drone defence capabilities. Seeder also pointed to Estonia’s sanctions exemption for the Solikamsk magnesium plant owned by Rosatom, calling it another example of what he described as hypocritical decisions.

EKRE parliamentary group leader Martin Helme said shortcomings in every minister’s work justified censuring the entire government. He criticised the finance minister over the lack of a long-term plan to restore public finances, the climate and economy minister over uncertainty about energy supply and prices, the social affairs minister over the absence of evidence-based family policy, and the education minister over rushed reforms and growing bureaucracy for teachers.

The motion had 33 signatures as of Wednesday morning. Its sponsors have also invited the Social Democrats to join, Centre Party parliamentary group media adviser Andres Kalvik said.