Addressing the party council, Perling said Estonia's major political powers have drifted away from the principle of limiting interference in people's lives and the economy, arguing that the state needs to be rolled back from what she called an outdated welfare-state model.

"Parties have abandoned that agreement," she said. "Our task is to restore it, because it has been the foundation of our country's success."

Perling emphasized that self-sufficient people are a country's greatest asset.

"The state's job is to create an environment where people can make their own decisions about their lives and build their own wealth," she said.

The opposition party leader also called for an end to state-funded benefits to those capable of supporting themselves, and accused the current, Reform-Eesti 200 coalition government of prioritizing redistribution over growth.

Speaking to "Aktuaalne kaamera," Perling said Parempoolsed would pursue a balanced budget and lower taxes, including reducing VAT to 20 percent and income tax to 18 percent.

"VAT four [percentage points] lower, one point per year, which would leave people with more money in their pockets," she noted.

'Our voters understand'

To achieve a balanced budget, she said public sector spending would need to be frozen wholesale and economic growth supported through measures including the broader use of artificial intelligence.

Asked about proposals to freeze pensions, Perling said social spending must be addressed as a whole and warned against policies she said fuel inflation.

"It's essentially lying to people when those promising more take-home pay today fail to acknowledge that it isn't sustainable," she said. "And that pouring money into the system like this, and the resulting steady rise in inflation, reduces people's purchasing power."

Parempoolsed voters are smart, Perling said, "and our voters understand that when we talk about needing to freeze state spending, we are doing it for a better future."

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