Kallas is given a mandate to form a government

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As expected, more than five weeks after parliamentary elections, the 45-year-old leader of the Reform Party received a mandate from the Tallinn parliament to form a new government in the Baltic EU and NATO country.

Kallas, who has been in office since 2021, is considered one of Ukraine’s most staunch supporters in the war against Russia – and is therefore about to serve a second term.

Kallas and her cabinet must now be appointed by President Alar Karis, who previously instructed her to form a government. In her speech to parliament, Kallas cited the security of Estonia, which borders Russia, as one of her coalition’s main concerns. “The war changed everything,” she said. 59 out of 101 MEPs voted for the lawyer and daughter of former EU Commissioner Siim Kallas, 38 voted against her. Kallas is the first woman in Estonian history to be the head of government.

Kallas will lead her party’s tripartite alliance with the Social Democrats (SDE) and the conservative Isamaa party. The parties had already signed a coalition agreement before the opening session of the new parliament on Easter Monday – it has a majority of 60 of the 101 seats. The Reform Party was clearly the strongest party in the March 5 elections. So far, Kallas has also led a three-party coalition – with the SDE and the conservative party Isamaa.

(SDA)

Source: Blick