Estonia’s Kallas won’t call for snap elections despite opposition victory

A few hours after French President Emmanuel Macron called for snap elections in France, his Renew Europe colleague Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced that her government would not fall as a result of the EU election results and the loss of a key MEP in her Reform Party (RE).

Kallas’ party came third in the vote, behind the opposition Isamaa (EPP) and the government’s partner, the Social Democratic Party (S&D).

Her party lost one of its two MEPs out of the seven who represent Estonia in Brussels.
“Kaja Kallas’ government will not fall with this election result,” she said.

Kallas said it was a very good result for her party to have only one MEP returning to Brussels, compared to the two it had as a result of the last EU elections in 2019.

“We missed the second mandate by a small margin. I thank Urmas, who was a tough locomotive, but everyone on the list did a good job,” said Kallas.

Kallas has seen her popularity plummet as a result of public sector budget cuts and a widespread feeling among the population that she is more focused on a possible future position in NATO or the EU than on domestic policy.

Politico wrote on Saturday that Kallas’ name was among the most discussed to replace Spain’s Josep Borrell at the helm of the European External Action Service (EEAS), backed in by French President Emanuel Macron.

Kallas nevertheless told Estonian broadcaster ETV that Macron’s endorsement was speculation by journalists.

“I don’t know if Macron would endorse me, it’s a fiction of journalists,” she said.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)

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