Lukas told ETV's "Terevisioon" that Isamaa will start meetings with potential partners in order of their election results. He said fundamental differences between the parties are few and likely manageable.

"All voter mandates must be respected," Lukas said. "We'll meet with representatives of all the [electoral] lists elected to [Tartu City Council] and think things through. We'll have a better idea by tomorrow."

The Reform Party, which lost its longtime leadership in Estonia's second-largest city, remains a strong local force, said current Mayor Urmas Klaas. He noted that just a month ago, Tartu's ruling party had been projected to win only 10 or 11 seats.

In Sunday's local elections, Isamaa won 16 seats on the 49-member city council, while the Reform Party took 15.

Klaas said the outcome left the party with mixed feelings. Reform exceeded polling expectations, but "the fact that we lost four seats doesn't exactly lift our spirits," he admitted.

He added that national and Tallinn politics likely affected the local results, but responsibility shouldn't be shifted elsewhere. Local issues played a role too, though Klaas believes protest votes at the national level ended up benefiting Isamaa.

A coalition between Isamaa and the Reform Party would have a comfortable majority with 31 votes.

A coalition could also technically form without Isamaa, which won the highest number of votes this election. Klaas said he is open to cooperation and wants Tartu to have "a functioning, forward-looking city government."

Lukas said he would not exclude anyone from talks, congratulating Klaas on his strong personal result and calling the Reform Party's overall showing "nothing to be ashamed of."

According to Lukas, only a few fundamental disagreements exist between the parties that might rule anyone out from cooperating in city governance, and even those, he said, are probably surmountable.

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