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Estonian Government Teeters in Row Over Nationalist Minister

Estonian Government Teeters in Row Over Nationalist Minister

(Bloomberg) -- Estonia’s government is teetering on the brink of collapse after a row over a cabinet member revived tensions between the nationalist party and its two coalition partners.

Prime Minister Juri Ratas, whose Center Party has held power since late 2016, has deflected criticism from the media and opposition over reneging on pledges to keep the populist and euro-skeptic EKRE out of power following elections in March. The coalition parties have also clashed over personnel issues.

“The issue is how to get the coalition out of this situation,” Ratas said Monday to reporters in Tallinn after a meeting with Rural Affairs Minister Mart Jarvik. “I am making efforts for the coalition to find a solution.”

The opposition Reform Party said it is planning to file a no-confidence motion against Jarvik, citing “serious doubt that the minister has acted in the interests of his adviser, has lied to the public on several occasions and pressured independent officials and offices.”

While his meeting with Jarvik “failed to address my questions,” the coalition partners will have to discuss the situation over “next few days,” Ratas said.

Finance Minister Martin Helme, who heads the anti-immigration EKRE party with his father Mart, the interior minister, said earlier that EKRE won’t stay in government if Jarvik, their fellow party member, is forced out.

EKRE leaders said last week that accusations of lying against Jarvik are a “coordinated information operation” by the opposition, media and prosecutors.

While President Kersti Kaljulaid has openly criticized EKRE, the six-month-old government overcame a separate crisis in August when Helme and his father tried to force out the Baltic country’s police chief without consulting the coalition.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ott Ummelas in Tallinn at oummelas@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Guy Collins

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