Pärtel-Peeter Pere said the Reform Party's plans have not changed since Friday.

"We've still been hoping that perhaps the coalition parties would at least be willing to enter into dialogue with Urmas Sõõrumaa. The Social Democrats have refused to do so for several days. If they choose not to engage, that's their decision — and their choice to continue this kind of obstinate behavior. In that case, we are left with only two options: to remain in opposition, or, under Urmas Sõõrumaa's leadership, to look for opportunities to cooperate across party lines," Pere told ERR.

"We have chosen Urmas Sõõrumaa as our mayoral candidate, we trust him on this matter and now we're waiting to hear his vision," Pere said.

He emphasized that no decision has been made — whether by internal email, behind closed doors or at a party board meeting — that would commit the Reform Party to cooperating with the Center Party. "Everything hinges on Sõõrumaa's decision," he said.

"Today [Monday], we'll hear what Urmas Sõõrumaa has to say, what proposals he puts forward. After that, we'll discuss," Pere said.

Asked how likely it is that the Reform Party would initiate a no-confidence vote against Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) in the city council, Pere declined to speculate.

"Tensions have run very high, and this leadership crisis is quite chaotic. It's not something we provoked. The root issue is the refusal to carry out something very simple — eliminating kindergarten fees," Pere said.

"This coalition has been torn apart by the mayor's stubbornness, and over the summer, the airwaves have been filled with relentless spin on one topic or another," he added.

Pere said that unlike fellow party member Maris Lauri, he would not discuss under what terms, if any, cooperation with the Center Party might take shape.

"Maybe it won't happen at all. We're taking this one step at a time, waiting to see what Urmas Sõõrumaa proposes, and then we'll talk," Pere said.

Asked whether he or Urmas Sõõrumaa would bear responsibility if the party's approval rating were to drop significantly in Tallinn or if they failed to gain power, Pere replied that he doesn't care about ratings.

"You're talking to a politician who has made urban space, child safety — making sure kids can bike safely — and climate change personal priorities. I don't follow the ratings; we'll see how things play out," Pere said.

The crisis so far

The four-way coalition in Tallinn first hit a rough patch when the Reform Party faction of the city council suggested in the second half of May it might cooperate with the opposition Center Party to abolish kindergarten fees in the capital. Both parties issued press releases on June 2 calling for the abolition of kindergarten fees.

This did not sit well with Reform's coalition partners — Isamaa, SDE and Eesti 200 — who are against the move and have accused the party of using the smokescreen of kindergarten fees to engineer a political crisis in the capital in a bid to discredit partners and improve the party's rating ahead of the October local elections.

The pushback and allegations, according to which Reform is only interested in a ratings bump, which political experts and the media have largely deemed accurate, caused Reform to announce it is unwilling to continue under the leadership of Social Democratic Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski. The mayor, in his turn, has dismissed Reform's deputy mayors and city district heads.

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