Pere warned fellow party members about the possibility that the Center Party and Isamaa might begin working together in Tallinn, describing cooperation with the Center Party as "inevitable."

"The shape of a potential coalition in Tallinn — one that could carry out the elimination of kindergarten fees and fulfill other key Reform Party promises — depends on the outcome of negotiations and ultimately on the decision of city council members," Pere wrote in the message.

"If we set aside emotions and personal feelings toward one party or another, it's the math that ultimately defines the boundaries of our choices — at least if our goal is to be in power," Pere said.

"What are we more afraid of — possible and inevitable cooperation with the Center Party, or resigning ourselves to the Center Party and Isamaa running things together in the capital? The current minority coalition holds less than a third of the votes on the city council and cannot govern the city," he told party members.

"If we can reach common ground on this issue, I believe we can deliver on our promises to families with children and head into the elections with something more substantial to show for it," Pere wrote.

Read more on Õhtuleht.

Pere: This isn't theater

According to Pere, he called for cooperation with the Center Party because the Social Democrats do not want Urmas Sõõrumaa to become mayor in place of Jevgeni Ossinovski.

"That's unfortunate, but this isn't a show — it's not our decision to make if they choose to refuse," Pere told "Aktuaalne kaamera" news.

"In this situation, where one party has refused, cooperation becomes inevitable if we want to eliminate kindergarten fees. At this point, that seems only possible with the Center Party," he said.

Õnne Pillak, Reform's Riigikogu whip, said that Urmas Sõõrumaa remains the party's candidate for mayor admitted that the businessman's track record raises some questions, but added that voters will ultimately decide.

Chair of the Tallinn City Council Toomas Kruusimägi (Reform) said a vote of no confidence in the current city government could happen soon.

SDE: Cooperation with Center not an inevitability

Madle Lippus, Tallinn's deputy mayor and a member of the Social Democratic Party, wrote on social media that cooperation with the Center Party is not inevitable and that it is still possible to continue with the current coalition. She called on the Reform Party to abandon its plan to bring a vote of no confidence against the mayor and to replace Pärtel-Peeter Pere.

"The Reform Party still has a chance to pull itself back from the edge of the cliff it has maneuvered itself onto," Lippus stated. "To do that, it must abandon the no-confidence motion against the mayor and replace Pärtel-Peeter Pere, who through his recent behavior has lost all trust among the other members of the coalition."

Isamaa: Reform uncomfortable when it cannot steamroll partners

Riina Solman, head of Isamaa's Tallinn chapter, criticized Pere's decision to call on his party to cooperate with the Center Party.

"After a month of publicly lying, Pärtel-Peeter Pere has finally made an honest confession: the Reform Party intends to work with the Center Party in Tallinn. He even claims it's inevitable because 'our goal is to be in power,'" Solman wrote in response to Pere's statement.

"The Reform Party was part of a coalition in Tallinn that supported Estonian values and the Estonian language. But they couldn't handle not being able to issue ultimatums or dominate their partners. The Reform Party's hunger for power leaves no room for the idea that they don't get to decide everything. We've seen this at the national level — and Isamaa didn't let them do the same in Tallinn. That's why they're now jumping into bed with the Center Party," Solman said.

Mayor: Reform heads making a conscious choice

Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party) noted that he had already written several days earlier that the Reform Party was planning to cooperate with the Center Party.

"Today, the Reform Party said that a coalition with the Center Party is inevitable. It is not. This is a deliberate choice made by the Reform Party's leadership, and they cannot shift responsibility for it onto anyone else," Ossinovski wrote on social media Sunday.

"Two days ago, I broke down the Reform Party's current communications strategy right here on Facebook: the Reform Party proposed that Urmas Sõõrumaa meet with the current coalition partners. It's a transparent move to legitimize cooperation with the Center Party. Since everyone understands the current partners will reject the proposal, the Reform Party is trying to convince the public that they were forced to bring the Center Party into power — even though they supposedly didn't want to. In reality, it was the Reform Party that broke up a functioning coalition and struck a deal with Kõlvart," he wrote.

"Today, Pärtel-Peeter Pere delivered that exact script to "Aktuaalne kaamera." Not even a trace of creativity — let alone principle," he added.

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