According to Saarts, the Reform Party remains firmly in the saddle in the new governing coalition, despite the fact that the Social Democrats (SDE) have become stronger in the Riigikogu after several members joined the party and will also have more ministerial portfolios in the new government.

Given the state’s financial situation, he noted that the new coalition did not have many options when drafting the new government agreement.

“I think this agreement involves a lot of forced choices,” the political scientist said. “Given the state of government finances, it would also be very irresponsible for politicians to ignore it completely. They would rather cut taxes than raise them, and instead they increase borrowing.”

He admitted that there weren’t many options here.

“In the current security and economic situation, it is clear that the tax policy and tax levels that Estonia has had are outdated,” Saarts said. “Society’s demands are a little different, geopolitical challenges are a little different, and whoever is in this government and the next government will have to adapt to that.”

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