Pillak urges possible Reform Party defectors to leave now

Potential further departures from Estonia’s Reform Party should happen now rather than in late autumn, party parliamentary group leader Õnne Pillak said, as tensions grow after the governing coalition lost its majority, ERR reported.

The coalition became a minority in the Riigikogu after Kalev Stoicescu left Eesti 200 and Meelis Kiil left the Reform Party. Pillak said the change was unlikely to bring major shifts to parliamentary work in the autumn.

“We need to look for more areas of cooperation on issues that are important and need to be adopted. I do not think that will be difficult in the major policy areas or on major issues,” Pillak said.

Prime Minister and Reform Party leader Kristen Michal acknowledged that the party was going through a difficult period and said it needed to make decisions and changes while explaining more actively what was going well in Estonia and what it wanted to achieve in the future.

Pillak did not rule out further departures from the party.

“If anyone else feels that they do not feel comfortable with us, it is better to make those decisions now rather than leave them until late autumn, because that is fair to everyone,” he said.

Political journalist Urmas Jaagant said there were certainly dissatisfied members in the party, but he did not expect a change of leadership.

“It is difficult to imagine who would want to take over the reins seven months before the elections, during which not very much would probably improve,” Jaagant said.

Michal also said the opposition did not appear to want to take responsibility for governing. He said he would not obstruct anyone capable of forming a functioning majority coalition, whether from within or outside the current coalition, and would instead help make it happen.

“This message is especially directed at the opposition, which is in a majority as of today, or as of this week,” Michal said.