Kaja Kallas, Estonia's First Female Prime Minister Resigns

Kaja Kallas. (Wikimedia Commons/Renee Altrov)

JAKARTA - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of the Estonian Reform Party resigned on Thursday to form a new coalition government in the Baltic nation.

She will convene an extraordinary parliamentary session tomorrow (today) to ask for a "mandate for a new government coalition" with the homeland's small conservative party 'Isamaa' and the opposition Social Democratic Party.

Kaja Kallas said in a statement that in order to form a new government, the current executive had to resign. The three parties together will have a majority in Riigikogu's 101-seat legislature.

Meanwhile, Estonian President Alar Karis said on Twitter he had asked Kallas to form a new government "quickly" after the reshuffle.

The deal means Kallas, Estonia's first female prime minister, will avoid a one-party minority government.

President Karis said last week the new cabinet had no time to rest, given Estonia's economic woes and the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine.

"Estonia will have a new minister who must immediately start working to lead our people through inflation and what lies ahead in the fall and winter with respect to energy prices," said President Karis, quoted by Euronews on July 14.

Estonia's inflation rate is now the highest in the 19-nation euro zone, with annual inflation hitting 22 percent in June, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical agency. High energy prices are one of the main causes of inflation.

Estonia itself is scheduled to hold general elections in March.

I will form a new government. According to the constitution, I just announced that the current government will resign.

I’ve proposed to convene extraordinary parliament sitting on Friday, where I'll ask for a mandate for the new government coalition.

📎 https://t.co/ASqE7zmaQT

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) July 14, 2022