"The government continues to take away opportunities from the most vulnerable with its decisions. Unfortunately, another vote of no confidence in a minister is not the solution to getting the government back on track," said Lauri Läänemets, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDE).

"I therefore call on Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) to focus on replacing the government as a whole, rather than spending a couple of weeks organizing no-confidence votes against ministers, which devalues the idea of no-confidence, undermines the credibility of the Riigikogu and turns the opposition's criticism into arbitrary background noise," Läänemets added.

According to Läänemets, the complete standstill of the government has been caused by Prime Minister Kristen Michal, who does not dare make timely and necessary decisions and instead aims to win cheap popularity through expensive tax gifts.

"The prime minister is ignoring the problems that Estonian people are struggling with today, be it high food or heating prices, the deepening mental health crisis among children and young people, or the fear of war caused by incompetent foreign policy," Läänemets said.

"It is clear that Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) has put the running of the country on hold. No new production capacity is being added in the energy sector, and businesses and domestic consumers are having to pay for large price fluctuations," the SDE leader continued.

"The long-term financing of education and science and covering the record deficit in the Health Insurance fund are issues that remain unresolved. However, we have also heard only vague statements from Urmas Reinsalu, who promised to bring down the government almost a year ago. Therefore, I propose that Reinsalu focus on replacing the government instead of making yet another 'empty promise.' The Social Democratic Party will not join the no-confidence motion against Kristina Kallas," he added.

SDE remain critical of Kallas

According to Läänemets, the SDE have long been critical of the work of Kristina Kallas and have consistently drawn attention to what they believe are poor decisions, from cutting opportunities for children's hobby education or the lack of clarity in the financing of higher education. The latest addition to that list is the delay in the implementation of yet another IT system, which is causing a considerable amount of extra work and stress for school staff.

"These are all serious failures on the part of the government that undermine the futures of our children. According to the recent human development report, access to extracurricular activities can be critical in preventing children from turning to crime. In the same way, no one should be left behind because their family cannot afford it," Läänemets said.

On Monday morning, Isamaa's Riigikogu group met with Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) to clarify the confusion that has arisen regarding the conditions for both completing basic school and continuing education.

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