TALLINN – Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas resigned today after his Centre Party came under investigation for corruption, raising the prospect of a new ruling coalition in the Baltic eurozone nation.
Elections are unlikely and President Kersti Kaljulaid said she would ask the leader of the opposition liberal Reform Party, Kaja Kallas, to form a government.
Kallas, who would be Estonia’s first female prime minister, would still require approval by Parliament.
The outgoing government, which stays in office until a new one is found, includes the far-right EKRE party.
One of the suspects in the investigation is an adviser to Finance Minister Martin Helme from EKRE.
Ratas announced his resignation on Facebook after an hours-long meeting of his party’s board in the night.
He said he had not made “any malicious or knowingly wrong decisions” but wanted to “shed light” on the case.
The investigation centres on a property company called Porto Franco which received a large state loan and struck a lucrative deal with city authorities in the capital Tallinn, whose mayor is also from the party.
Hillar Teder, a businessman and the father of the company’s owner, donated large sums to the Centre Party. – AFP, January 13, 2021
