Recently, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia EKRE introduced a bill in the Riigikogu calling for Estonia's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Isamaa chair Urmas Reinsalu dismissed the move as a bid for attention.

"No, I don't think... We've been a party to this convention for ten years and I believe we've implemented it in a rational, common-sense way — protecting women's bodily autonomy and dignity. Nothing has been exaggerated or ideologized, particularly in terms of criminal law. I see no reason to reopen the issue. This is part of the so-called culture wars," Reinsalu said.

The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Latvia's parliament recently passed a bill to withdraw from the convention.

Reinsalu went on to say that the same attention-seeking behavior shown by EKRE — who also introduced a bill to shut down public broadcaster ERR — is evident in Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform), who, he said, has "elevated both issues."

"These topics have no real public demand. People are tired of culture wars; they want to find what unites the nation," Reinsalu said.

According to him, this reflects an intentional escalation of conflict between two camps: the Reform Party, led by the prime minister, and EKRE.

"I think a new tension has emerged in society and it's clearly being cynically stoked by political forces. The prime minister on one side, EKRE on the other — they want to turn society into a test lab and build up opposing positions. I don't think this reflects the expectations of Estonian society today," he said.

Reinsalu also criticized Michal's call for Rein Veidemann, chair of ERR's supervisory board, to reconsider his position after making comments to Postimees, calling the suggestion strange.

"I was baffled when the prime minister demanded the resignation of the head of public broadcasting. [...] Estonian Public Broadcasting is not the TV and Radio Committee of the Estonian SSR. That kind of pressure from the government — they don't seem to realize their tone. As a citizen, anyone can express their opinion, whether harsh or mild, but coming from the government, this kind of pressure is at the very least inappropriate," Reinsalu said.

When asked how long he believes the Reform Party–Eesti 200 coalition will last and whether Isamaa would consider joining a coalition before the next parliamentary elections in spring 2027, Reinsalu said his party would only enter government for a single day — on the condition that snap elections are held the following day.

"I see that they (the Reform Party and Eesti 200 — ed.) are in political agony. I've been told that the prime minister recently said during a cabinet meeting that this government will not advance any bills that are socially controversial before the next elections. In the broader context, the country is on pause and instead we're dealing with pseudo-issues that only create more uncertainty in society — like the climate law," Reinsalu said.

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