Kaja Kallas's first cabinet was the Cabinet of Estonia between 26 January 2021 and 14 July 2022.[1] It was a grand coalition cabinet of the Reform Party and the Centre Party until 3 June 2022 when Kallas dismissed Centre Party ministers from government after several weeks of disputes between the two parties.[2]
Kaja Kallas's first cabinet | |
|---|---|
 51st Cabinet of Estonia | |
| 2021-2022 | |
 | |
| Date formed | 26 January 2021 |
| Date dissolved | 14 July 2022 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Kersti Kaljulaid Alar Karis |
| Head of government | Kaja Kallas |
| No. of ministers | 15 |
| Ministers removed | 9 |
| Total no. of members | 17 |
| Member parties | Reform Party Centre Party (until 3 June 2022) |
| Status in legislature | Majority cabinet (until 3 June 2022) 58 / 101 (57%) Minority cabinet (from 3 June 2022) 34 / 101 (34%) |
| Opposition parties | Centre Party (from 3 June 2022) Conservative People's Party Isamaa Social Democrats |
| History | |
| Election | 2019 election |
| Predecessor | Jüri Ratas' second cabinet |
| Successor | Kaja Kallas's second cabinet |
Background
editThe cabinet was formed after the previous cabinet led by the Centre Party resigned on 14 January 2021 following the resignation of the prime minister Jüri Ratas in the wake of a corruption scandal.[3]
From the very beginning, pundits stated several possible coalitions, among them were Reform Party–Centre Party, Reform Party–Isamaa–SDE, Centre Party–EKRE–Isamaa, Reform Party–EKRE.[4] On 14 January 2021, negotiations started between the Reform Party and the Centre Party. Although it was seen as a surprise to many, the leaders of Isamaa and EKRE (Helir-Valdor Seeder and Martin Helme, respectively) stated that the Centre Party members were probing a possible coalition with the Reform Party since the end of 2020.[5][6]
The cabinet received its mandate on 25 January 2021.
This cabinet was the first coalition government between the Reform Party and the Centre Party since 2003. Also, it became the most gender-equal cabinet in Estonia's history.[7]
The cabinet led Estonia in the times of health crisis of COVID-19 pandemic and energy and security crisis caused by 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Estonia became one of the largest donors of weapons for Ukraine per capita[8] and received over 40,000 Ukrainian refugees.[9]
Ministers
editThe coalition agreed on 14 ministers in addition to the prime minister with seven each for Reform and Center.[10]
In November 2021, Centre's Anneli Ott announced her resignation after criticism related to her not allowing herself to be vaccinated against COVID-19, citing disagreements with the Reform Party on restrictions. Her resignation revealed deeper disagreements between the two coalition parties regarding COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination.[11]
On 2 June 2022, Kallas dismissed the seven ministers of the Centre Party after several weeks of deadlock, during which her coalition partner voted with the far-right EKRE opposition against an education bill.[2][12] Continuing with a minority cabinet, the Reform Party called up the conservative Isamaa and the Social Democrats for talks on a possible new coalition.[13][12] On July 8, the three parties announced that they agreed on forming a new coalition government. [14] The new coalition was given a mandate by the Riigikogu on July 15 and became Kaja Kallas's second cabinet.[15]
References
edit- ^ "Gallery: Kaja Kallas wins mandate to form government". ERR. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b Wright, Helen (3 June 2022). "Estonian prime minister dismisses junior coalition partner from government". ERR. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Jüri Ratas resigns as prime minister following loan scandal". ERR. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Political mathematics: Four new possible coalitions". ERR. Jan 13, 2021. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved Feb 25, 2021.
- ^ "Seeder: Corruption scandal brought collapse of coalition forward". ERR. Jan 14, 2021. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved Feb 25, 2021.
- ^ "Helme: Ratas always looked for excuses to say it was difficult with us". ERR. Jan 15, 2021. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved Feb 25, 2021.
- ^ "Feature: Women in the Estonian government 1992-2021". ERR. Jan 27, 2021. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved Feb 25, 2021.
- ^ Hankewitz, Sten (19 April 2022). "Per GDP, Estonia has donated far more to Ukraine than any other nation". Estonian World. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ Vahtla, Aili (26 May 2022). "PPA: Estonia has received more than 40,000 refugees from Ukraine". ERR. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Reform, Center announce incoming ministers". ERR. 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Whyte, Andrew (2 November 2021). "Anneli Ott resigns as culture minister". ERR. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Estonian government in crisis as coalition crumbles". France 24. 2022-06-03. Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ Whyte, Andrew (3 June 2022). "Prime minister approaches SDE, Isamaa leaders on potential coalition talks". ERR. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ Whyte, Andrew (8 July 2022). "Reform, SDE, Isamaa strike coalition agreement". ERR. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ Wright, Helen (15 July 2022). "Riigikogu grants Kallas mandate to form new government". ERR. Retrieved 15 July 2022.