Estonia: Governing coalition collapses

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was looking for new partners to form a coalition after she kicked out her former allies from the government on Friday,

She broke up with the center-left Center Party after it sided with the far-right opposition EKRE party to block government reform of primary education.

The Center Party also demanded an increase in child and family benefits, which Kallas' Reform Party opposed.

"Estonia needs a functioning government based on common values now more than ever. The security situation in Europe does not give me, as prime minister, the possibility of continuing cooperation with the Centre Party," Kallas said.

What is the deadline for power-sharing talks?

Nearly half of Kallas' Cabinet including Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets were removed from their posts due to the split. The other Cabinet members would take over their jobs until a new government coalition is formed.

Kallas plans to hold power-sharing talks with the center-right Christian Democrat Isamaa party and the SDE Social Democrats.

If they agree to join the government, the coalition would have a small majority in parliament.

The new government needs to be in place before Kallas' meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday, she said.

Why Estonia is important 

The Baltic state is bordered by Russia to the east and was ruled as an occupied Soviet Republic for more than 40 years before its independence in 1991. It is now a member of the European Union and the Western military alliance NATO.

The collapse of the government came on the 100th day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Some eastern NATO members fear they might be the next targets of Russian aggression. Prime Minister Kallas told DW last month that "our neighbor's problems today are our problems tomorrow. If we don't help out neighbors when their house is on fire, the fire will also catch your house." 

lo/rt (AP, dpa, Reuters)