Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas resigned on July 15th, expecting to become the EU’s new foreign policy chief. Known for her strong support of Ukraine and tough stance against Russia, Kallas is moving to Brussels amid her party’s declining popularity at home. Despite Estonia’s high defense spending under her leadership, her husband’s business dealings with Russia and controversial policies like tax hikes and legalizing same-sex marriage have hurt her reputation. As she transitions to a powerful EU role, Estonia’s political landscape faces uncertainty, with Climate Minister Kristen Michal likely to take over.
On Monday, July 15, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas formally announced her resignation, saying she anticipated being elected as the next head of the EU’s foreign policy.
Following the overthrow of the previous administration in 2021, Kallas was named prime minister of the small Baltic nation. She subsequently led her liberal-centrist Reform Party to victory in the 2023 elections, creating an alliance with the Social Democrats and the liberal E200 party reports Reuters.
The 47-year-old is regarded as one of the EU’s most assertive leaders and one of the country’s most ardent advocates. Estonia is expected to spend 3.4% of its GDP on defense this year, which is the second-highest percentage among NATO members. “These decisions help to ensure that Estonia is firmly protected and a safe place to live,” she said.
Once thought to be too strongly anti-Russian to be appointed Secretary-General of NATO, Kallas was selected by a qualified majority of the governments of EU member states to succeed Josep Borrell as the EU’s next High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As part of a package to reelect Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, she was chosen through a backroom arrangement by leftist and centrist European politicians.
The question of whether the new Commission, including Kallas, has the backing of the majority still needs to be answered by the European Parliament.
Depending on the outcome of talks between the three parties, the present left-liberal coalition in Tallinn is expected to continue without Kallas, with Climate Minister Kristen Michal likely to take over as prime minister. Kallas will hold this position until a new administration is established.
Given how poorly Kallas’ party fared in the June European elections, it’s possible that her decision to go to Brussels coincided with her transfer. With 18% of the vote, the Reform Party came in third place and is now polling at 15%, a sharp decline from their 31% share in the previous year’s national elections.
The government’s tax increases and budget cuts, the legalization of same-sex marriage—which nearly half of the nation opposes—and the disclosure that Kallas’s husband was associated with a business that carried on operations in Russia while she openly chastised those who carried on trade with Moscow could all be contributing factors to the party’s declining popularity.
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