Reinsalu spoke to Vikerraadio show "Uudis+" and gave an interview which follows

How does this change the political situation in Tallinn after the elections, if the Reform Party has clearly ruled out cooperation with the Center Party? It seems to diminish the options for who can form a coalition.

No, I don't believe that. This is because, Mr [prime minister Kristen] Michal – I didn't quite understand what exactly he was apologizing for. Was it for the fact that the Reform Party just a few weeks ago proposed forming a coalition with the Center Party in Tallinn, or was it for demanding the abolition of kindergarten fees without any financial calculations, or was it for going into opposition? That was unclear to me.

I think the prime minister certainly has reason to apologize, but in reality, it's for the whole current poor state of governance.

At the same time, I noticed the prime minister distanced himself. He said that these Tallinn matters don't really concern him. I now see in the leadership of the Reform Party, in the "handwriting" of that party, the chaos and confusion that they've managed to bring about at the national level — they have transferred that quite effectively and completely to local governments, especially to the governance of Tallinn. That is certainly an additional risk and problem.

The prime minister, I noticed, said that the Reform Party people in Tallinn will decide themselves, but that is his personal opinion. I understand that at least the prime minister himself has ruled out cooperation with the Center Party. It is also known that the Center Party does not want to cooperate with, for example, the Social Democratic mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski.

But what about Isamaa? Is Isamaa, in principle, ready to form a ruling coalition with the Center Party after the local elections, if the numbers allow?

I remember in 2021 when Isamaa proposed forming a united opposition, trying to keep the Center Party out of office in Tallinn. I recall that both the Social Democrats and the Reform Party refused. According to my information, this happened immediately after the elections, even though mathematically it would have been possible.

Both of them made proposals to the Center Party to form a coalition, which then happened with the participation of the Social Democrats. Michal's proposal at the time to form a coalition with the Center Party in Tallinn – it was actually the Center Party that rejected it, for their own reasons.

My view is that I am skeptical in this regard. Regarding the view that, in the interest of Tallinn, the Center Party would return to power.

I think the issues related to pro-Estonian values, the Estonian language, and honest city governance – I believe the Center Party does not serve the interests of Tallinn residents. That is my preference.

I also consider the Center Party a risk from another angle, in terms of Tallinn's longer-term interests, which are clearly linked to Estonia's national interests.

At the same time, I note that the Reform Party has lost all credibility.

If I have said before that the Reform Party's policies are poor, then now I must acknowledge that their agonizing leadership is an additional credit risk in making public political decisions.

Am I right in understanding that your preference is not to enter a coalition with the Center Party? You have many concerns regarding the Center Party, but you're not going to explicitly rule out a coalition with them right now?

For me, the problem is the return of the Center Party, naturally. Efforts must certainly be made regarding that, but right now I see an acute problem related to the Reform Party.

With them, we must acknowledge problems in leadership maturity, the quality of administration, and also the substance of their policies. These are serious problems.

Can we already label this interview as 'the Vikerraadio interview with Urmas Reinsalu as Isamaa's mayoral candidate in Tallinn'?

No, our Tallinn regional board has not yet made any final decision.

There are different developments, options, and the course of events has been very dynamic.

It seems to me that the threshold of expectations now, this flailing by the Reform Party, has made the Tallinn question a much more substantive issue than it might be in a normal election.

Is it ruled out that you could become the mayoral candidate for Tallinn?

[Pauses]

Let's just say that when the time is right to make the decision, Isamaa will announce it.

But the worst thing in politics is a false start. We've seen that now in the case of the Reform Party. Everything that was promised just days ago has turned out to be either wrong or something requiring later corrections.

We don't know who their mayoral candidate is, nor what their political handwriting really looks like. Moreover, they have created quite a unique governance mess for Estonian society – not just for Tallinn residents.

I don't recall anything like that even, looking back at the 1990s, in recent Estonian political history.

It's interesting in the case of the Reform Party that they chose not a party member, but rather a well-known entrepreneur as their mayoral candidate.

Has Isamaa considered something similar – to perhaps take a mayoral candidate from outside the party, from the private sector?

I'll immediately ask the good host – maybe he's more informed than I am – is the Reform Party's candidate Mr [Urmas] Sõõrumaa?

I don't think anyone really understands.

Exactly. I think that's a very accurate political framing by the journalist. No one can really understand what kind of policy is being pursued by the party that is effectively ruling Estonia alone.

Coming to the practical side of the question, I acknowledge that many people from various fields will definitely be running with our team in Tallinn.

I definitely think that pulling in practical competence from different sectors of local life is entirely rational.

Regarding the type of mayor – whether we've considered an entrepreneur – we have looked very openly at various options.

When will Isamaa choose its mayoral candidate for Tallinn? Do you already have a date set for making that decision?

It will be in August.

No exact date yet?

No, I think that will be the moment when we introduce the candidate and our core approach to the current situation in Tallinn, which cannot be separated from the situation in Estonia more broadly. Then we'll announce it publicly.

According to Kantar Emor, support for the governing parties is at 17 percent. According to Norstat, support for the Reform Party and Eesti 200 was even a few percent lower. The opposition has been clearly critical of the current government for some time. You yourself have also emphasized that there is currently a crisis of trust in the country. You mentioned in a Facebook post that it would be reasonable for the Reform Party to acknowledge the deadlock and allow for early parliamentary elections. What exactly would these early parliamentary elections look like? They haven't happened in Estonia before, at least not in my memory.

Yes, but they have taken place in many EU member states. With the assumption that society should not lose time.

We must make a genuine effort – that is the responsibility of politicians – to rebuild trust and dialogue in society.

Most recently, they were held in Germany in February, and early elections are no different from regular ones.

Since we have local elections coming up in October, then from a cost-efficiency perspective it is technically entirely feasible to hold parliamentary elections on the same day.

If you're thinking about the method to initiate them, I've proposed something similar to the German logic: if a relative majority of parliament members supports it, then the head of government can make a proposal to the president to call early elections.

I assume that the president – having discretionary power in this matter – would also make a responsible decision and declare those elections.

This is a conceptual way to more quickly exit the deadlock.

But naturally, I am realistically skeptical about the Reform Party's capacity for responsibility.

Right now we see that in their agony they are trying to take every possible step to continue governing in the same dynamic.

Isamaa remains in office in the capital in a minority coalition with SDE and Eesti 200, after the Reform Party left office at the start of the week.

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