Parliamentary parties are living in their own dreams. The Reform Party dreams that everything is fine with the economy and that no more decisions need to be made. Isamaa and the Center Party, however, hope to escape responsibility.

Such political games only harm the Estonian state. Bold reforms are postponed, and the debt we pass on to our children grows by more than a hundred million euros every month.

The situation is not improved by the fact that the Reform Party government recently transferred 70 million euros of national defense money to an Indian company with a dubious background, now mocked by the biggest Putin trolls on social media. In addition to the Reform Party's failure to balance the budget, the honest use of Estonia's defense funds and our international defense reputation have been called into question. It is simply embarrassing. The Reform Party is no longer reliable in national defense or public finances.

This is precisely why the board of Parempoolsed has proposed to the Reform Party board that Kristen Michal — who absolutely does not grasp political responsibility — be recalled from the prime minister's seat and replaced until the elections with an interim prime minister whose task would be to stop the budget that is steering us toward bankruptcy and to lead the country to the elections without additional scandals.

Why do we think so, besides the mess created in national defense?

The private sector does not believe in Estonia

Yes, Estonia's economy cannot be viewed only in dark tones. Since Sweden and Finland have begun to do better, we have benefited as well. The economy is cyclical, and every downturn is followed at some point by an upswing. We are seeing that now: in the previous quarter, the economy grew by 1.8 percent.

But let's not be fooled by the prime minister's sugar‑coated talk about how everything is fine, even though investments continue to bypass us, people's confidence is low, and most employers see the biggest future risk as an unpredictable economic and tax environment.

Moreover, if the prime minister truly believes that things are now good, then the question arises: why have you not used this growth in a statesmanlike manner to fix public finances? The reality is that we are far from the kind of economic growth that would improve people's standard of living — growth that is stable, long‑term, and faster than that of our neighbors.

Current economic growth is fragile. Especially when you look inside the numbers. Our growth is based on large state investments. As the Ministry of Finance's economic forecast pointed out, public‑sector investments are at a historic peak. The private sector last invested such a small share of GDP in Estonia during the recession at the end of the first decade of the century. And the situation is not improving — the economic forecast does not foresee growth in business investments.

State expenditures keep growing, and the government neither knows nor wants to apply brakes. This increases and prolongs the period of uncertainty. Entrepreneurs do not want to invest in Estonia because they are rational. They understand that a yeast‑like swelling national debt will eventually bring tax increases that will sink their plans again.

For foreign investment to return, the government must acknowledge its mistakes. We cannot change the geopolitical situation ourselves, but we can and must start fixing our public finances here, by ourselves, and immediately. Right now, the statesmanlike thing would be to focus on the state budget and steer it toward balance. Only then do we restore investment confidence, which will eventually bring better jobs, wage growth, and improved living standards for Estonians.

This is also pointed out in the fresh employers' manifesto. Public‑sector overspending is not sustainable — it artificially inflates economic growth, but at some point the myth collapses, because real prosperity is created only by the private sector.

Let's not be fooled by statistical adjustments

What does not help us? Claims that the past few years have not actually been so bad because statistics have been adjusted. This is simply a political talking point, because such adjustments are routine and have no real impact on the economy.

Everyone has felt the decline in purchasing power, rising prices, climbing inflation, and the taking away of earned money through constant tax increases. These feelings, perceptions, and experiences have been real for people — statistical adjustments do not make anyone's life better.

In reality, state expenditures are still growing, there is no plan to ease the debt burden, and by 2027 interest costs may reach 320 million euros — 0.7 percent of GDP. As large as the amount Estonia gives each year to our national culture.

This shows that current state leaders continue living at the expense of the future. Yet this is exactly what we must stop if we want a better Estonia for future generations and confidence and hope for a brighter future for Estonian people.

All parliamentary parties share responsibility for the disorder in public finances, because it has lasted longer than the current coalition. At the same time, instead of focusing on the past, it is important to focus on the future and seek solutions there. This is how the opposition should think as well, if they had a sense of responsibility and statesmanship.

Reinsalu and Kõlvart offer only populism

The leader of the largest opposition party, instead of focusing on the state budget, proposes a plan for extraordinary elections — something belonging to the realm of utopia. Extraordinary elections are neither possible nor necessary.

Of course, the leaders of Isamaa and the Center Party know this, but since Reform Party chairman Kristen Michal and Isamaa chairman Urmas Reinsalu are competing for the title of best political gamer, the fairy tale of extraordinary elections serves nicely as a smokescreen to hide the fear of Isamaa and the Center Party — who have tied themselves together neatly in the capital — that the government might actually fall and they would have to govern themselves. Then their myth of raising benefits while lowering taxes would collapse.

Until now, the fairy tale of extraordinary elections has mostly been told to voters by the Helme family leading EKRE, who are used to living in a parallel reality. It is very strange why opposition leader Reinsalu has fallen for the same trick. By going along with such ridiculous populism, he harms the entire opposition and makes the Reform Party's election campaign easier.

A large part of Estonians reasonably want a change of government and the Reform Party sent to the waiting bench, but many of these people also want a return to sensible politics and avoidance of populism. Reinsalu and Centre Party chairman Mihhail Kõlvart, however, have decided to offer populism and unrealistic substitute activities.

Let's start deciding

The statesmanlike thing would be to resist the temptation to extort promises from a minority government through deals and instead help compile a responsible state budget. I admit this is difficult, and even with the best effort it may not succeed.

Therefore, the other alternative is not to allow the adoption of an irresponsible budget and to enter the next year without a state budget, using the constitutional option that in the first months one may spend as much as at the beginning of 2026. In March, a new government can adopt a budget that moves toward balance.

What would help us now is a decision to freeze state expenditures at the 2026 level. After that, we can discuss starting tax cuts that stimulate the economy. This would restore confidence for entrepreneurs and give people hope for a better future.

True, even these two steps are not enough, because they only illustrate the general path. How do we move the budget toward balance? Very simple: we must start reforms in the education, social, and healthcare systems to detach ourselves from the outdated welfare‑state model, giving people back the freedom and responsibility to make more choices themselves and giving the private sector greater opportunities to operate in these fields.

Education must be tied to the labor market. In healthcare, the availability of medical care must be maintained under the conditions of an aging and shrinking population through greater co‑payment and broader involvement of the private sector.

Reducing bureaucracy and administrative burden must happen in deeds, not words as before. We also need modernization of labor relations, because they inevitably rely more on flexibility and mutual agreements, where trade unions, as historical phenomena, should no longer have a role.

These are the steps that help change the direction of the state and lead us toward a free and prosperous Estonia. Therefore, I recommend that state leaders not engage in substitute activities during the last half‑year before the elections, but rather find the statesmanship within themselves and make at least some difficult decisions for a better future.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!