The government will begin drafting the state budget at the end of August, and while coalition politicians would like to raise the salaries of teachers, police officers, rescue workers and cultural workers next year, it is unclear whether there will be enough money to do so.

In a social media post, Minister of Culture Heidy Purga (Reform) referred to an interview with Mart Võrklaev, in which the former finance minister said that any additional pay raises for public-sector employees would be covered by borrowed money in a deficit budget and would eventually need to be repaid with interest.

Purga said she was troubled by what she described as the stigmatization of education and culture sector employees. She admitted that Võrklaev was right on some points, but said she could not agree with singling out such an important field. "If we don't have good education, what kind of future does our country have? If we don't have culture, what meaning does our country have?" Purga asked.

"We can buy rockets with borrowed money, but our people do not work or contribute to our shared well-being and future with borrowed money. That is not how one should think or speak. Cultural workers' salaries have not increased for three years! Meanwhile, all prices have gone up and life in general has become more expensive. In contrast, the Ministry of Culture's budget has been reduced and now ranks second among ministries in terms of cuts," Purga wrote.

The minister added that such statements make her feel sad, and stressed that people working in the fields of culture and education must be valued and supported.

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