Estonia’s Kaja Kallas secures government coalition agreement

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has reached an agreement with two other political parties to form a new coalition government. The coalition deal will be formally signed on Monday.

About a month after the elections, Kallas on Saturday reached a deal between her center-right Reform Party, the centrist Estonia 200 Party and the Social Democratic Party.

“This agreement ensures that Estonia is protected, that we can continue as an independent and self-sustaining country,” Kallas told a press conference.

The Reform Party — which was at the helm of a outgoing coalition government with the Social Democrats and the Fatherland party — comfortably won re-election in early March. Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister, is expected to keep the job she’s been holding since 2021.

Her party will have seven ministerial portfolios, including finance and defense.

Beyond defense, reducing fiscal deficits and pushing policies such as same-sex marriage are among the other pressing issues, Bloomberg reported. The three parties reportedly also agreed to raise the minimum wage and to increase taxes.

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