"Yesterday's city government cabinet meeting was rather terse and uninformative," Jašin recounted Thursday. "It basically lasted just 15 minutes, during which our Reform Party colleague, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, showed up and said [his party] essentially hasn't discussed the issue [of eliminating kindergarten fees in Tallinn]."

He added that Reform has pledged to come up with a counterproposal — to the SDE, Eesti 200 and Isamaa's latest proposal to lower, not eliminate, the monthly fees — after its party board meeting Friday.

Given how unproductive Wednesday's meeting was, Jašin admitted they were surprised by Reform's press release Thursday morning.

"This clearly makes you think that by now, we're just spectators in the middle of a situation, and I feel like this is just a pathetic and very poor midsummer theater performance being put on by the Reform Party here in Tallinn," he commented. "One that isn't being taken seriously by either politicians or the public — the city's residents."

The deputy mayor noted that while the issue initially focused on kindergarten fees, Reform later started criticizing the work of the SDE's Jevgeni Ossinovski as mayor.

"And then came the third act, when the whole coalition became acceptable," he continued, adding that he believes Reform may be paving the way for a deal with the opposition Center Party, which he stressed has been convicted of corruption three times.

Jašin said that Reform has the option to either form a coalition with the Center Party or simply leave the current ruling coalition altogether, but either way, something's got to give. "And if they've taken things this far, then that's likely the next step," he added.

A no-confidence vote in the mayor would require convening an extraordinary Tallinn City Council meeting. The coalition planned to vote on the city's supplementary budget on July 21, but that date has also already effectively been scheduled as an extraordinary meeting.

Kase: If there's another deal, be upfront about it

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Karl Sander Kase (Isamaa) echoed Jašin's frustration, saying Reform has failed to follow through on its own initiative.

"Frankly, I think it's starting to get a little embarrassing," Kase said.

He recalled that on Wednesday, representatives of the coalition's four parties all sat down together to discuss the kindergarten fees issue, Pere admitted that Reform hadn't worked on it at all meanwhile but promised to take charge of the issue, and it was even specifically asked whether there were any other concerns or issues needing addressing — and there weren't any.

"Now we're reading in the news about the seven deadly sins," he said. "This crisis has been caused by the Reform Party, and trying to resolve it in the papers is shameful. If another plan exists — another deal — they need to be upfront about it."

The Isamaa deputy mayor said other coalition parties had seen the current situation brewing for weeks. He suspects Reform's ultimate aim may be to force a power shift in the capital and partner with the Center Party — leaving even Pere himself out in the process.

Kase said that with the planned extraordinary city council meeting still a month out, anything is possible, but whether the current coalition can survive will depend on whether Reform is truly willing to reflect on its actions.

"If they learn from this, the [coalition] can go on," he concluded. "If they don't, then this coalition is over in its current form."

Kallas: Reform's Tallinn moves threaten entire education reform

Minister of Education and Research and Eesti 200 Kristina Kallas also criticized Reform's conduct on Thursday, noting that it doesn't align with what city residents want and warning it puts the entire transition to Estonian-language education at risk.

"It cannot be overlooked that the deputy mayor has begun publicly pressuring coalition partners with ultimatums unrelated to key issues affecting the city's development," Kallas said, referring to Pere.

Like Jašin, she described the current situation as laying the groundwork for new deals with the Center Party, which she likewise pointed out has been convicted three times for criminal corruption.

"Tallinn residents want corruption-free, European-style governance focused on improving the quality of public services," she noted. "They don't want free kindergarten; they want to be able to get their kid enrolled into kindergarten at all."

According to the Eesti 200 chair, the Center Party's previous leadership stalled education reform for years, and continues to exploit fears in the Russian-speaking community.

"Even after the Riigikogu had passed the transition law, Mihhail Kõlvart fought against the switch to Estonian-language education, albeit using softer arguments about teachers' inadequate language skills and methodology," she recalled.

The education minister noted that Center has continued promoting the idea that Estonian-language education is detrimental to the children's education, turning the Russian-speaking population into a second-class group and destroying their identity and native language.

"Strikingly, the Center Party and EKRE have found common ground in opposing a unified school [system]," she continued, pointing out that EKRE believes Russian-speaking children should definitely be educated separately from Estonian-speaking children. "Meaning that the decades-long segregation in education should continue."

Kallas highlighted how the transition to Estonian-language education in the Estonian capital only started gaining momentum once the current coalition gained power. "The attitudes and values of the city's leaders support the direction of creating a unified school, sending a clear message to all school principals," she added.

On Thursday morning, Tallinn Deputy Mayor Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) sent a letter on his party's behalf to its coalition partners in Tallinn — the Social Democratic Party (SDE), Isamaa and Eesti 200 — formally indicating that the Reform Party no longer supports Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) remaining in office.

"We can no longer move forward with the current mayor, or resolve the leadership crisis that has arisen in the city," Pere wrote.

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