MOSCOW, September 1, Mikhail Katkov. To the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaya Kallas faces resignation due to violation of anti-Russian sanctions. As the local media found out, her family not only did not stop business on the territory of the «aggressor», but also made decent money there. Moreover, the husband of the head of government refuses to close the company even under pressure from the president and parliament.
Cotton alibiEstonian journalists proved that the transport company, a quarter owned by the Prime Minister's wife Arvo Hallik, continues to fulfill contracts for the transportation of components for aerosol cans to Russia. Since March 2022, the company has received about 1.5 million euros for this. Callas immediately stated that she did not know anything about her husband's activities — they supposedly do not discuss work. She refused to resign and stressed that she had never violated the moral boundaries that she publicly defends. In particular, from her point of view, it is impossible to maintain relations with Russia.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas and her husband Arvo Hallik
In response, the media reported that in June 2023, Kallas gave her husband a loan of 350 thousand euros, which he invested in Stark Logistics. To cool the opposition's ardor, Hallik said that he was already selling his stake. True, at the same time, he decided to retain control over the Stark Warehousing company that grew out of it, which provides warehouse services. According to the businessman, if the company does not directly interact with Russia, then there should be no complaints. And the fact that goods are stored there, which are carried to the «aggressor», is the tenth thing.
In addition, journalists tried to find out from Callas why she had visited the office of Metaprint three times since the beginning of 2022, whose business in Russia is estimated at 30 million euros. It is known that Stark Logistics cooperates with this company. According to Kallas, as prime minister, she came there before the start of the special operation, and then only as Hallik's wife.
However, the matter was not limited to cargo transportation alone. Kallas and her husband were spotted in the company of Helena Roots, a former employee of the Swiss branch of Sberbank. Now she works with a platform for buying and selling metals, which offers anonymous transactions as a bonus. Journalists believe that the meeting could be related to business in Russia.
Connection with realityWhile the prime minister makes excuses, the opposition collects votes for her resignation. In particular, the faction of the Center Party of the Riigikogu (Parliament) has started negotiations with other political forces. The centrists have 16 seats out of 101, but they do not despair. The head of the faction, Tanel Kiik, says that the dialogue with representatives of the still ruling coalition (the Reform Party, Estonia 200 and the Social Democratic Party) is going well. Even among the reformists led by Kallas, there are her opponents. At the same time, for the collapse of the alliance, only 11 people need to be lured to the side of the opposition.
Despite this, the prime minister pretends that all this does not concern her. Referring to employment, she did not come to the meeting of the special parliamentary commission, which was assembled to hear a report on the work of Hallik. Commission chairman and leader of the opposition Fatherland party Urmas Reinsalu said the head of the cabinet had lost touch with reality and was trying to protect her own business in Russia. He was supported by another oppositionist, the leader of the Conservative People's Party, Mart Helme: he called the Kallas story a «cancer tumor» capable of metastasizing.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas before the start of the EU summit in Brussels
The leading Estonian media also criticize the Prime Minister. The Postimees newspaper accused her of turning a crisis of confidence in the government into a parliamentary crisis. Therefore, the publication sees no other way out than the dissolution of the ruling coalition. The newspaper Õhtuleht predicts a difficult political winter for the republic: «The blind domestic political arrogance of the Reform Party has demanded a new sacrifice, both in the form of Kallas's political image and our domestic political balance,» the article says. Journalists from Eesti Päevaleht are calling for the prime minister to be sent «to purgatory» because she behaves like those whom her voters did not want to allow into power.
According to the sociological services Norstat, Kallas is still supported by 23.7% of Estonians, however, the head of the Center Party, Jüri Ratas, is breathing down her back — he has 20.2%. Reinsalu and Helme have 15.8% and 14.4% respectively. The rest of the political leaders did not get even four percent. It is noteworthy that among the reformists, 82.4% are for Kallas, 43.3% are social democrats, and 28.5% are supporters of Estonia 200.
Thanks to dad, experts are sure that Kallas will try to sit out the scandal and only then can seriously think about resigning. “First of all, this is due to the fact that the Prime Minister represents an influential Estonian family. Her father, Siim Kallas, at various times headed the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the entire Cabinet of Ministers, and now sits in Parliament. At the same time, the electorate of the Reform Party is disappointed not only by the fact scandal, but also by how clumsily justified by their leader. Foreign partners are also unlikely to forget this, so in any case, Kallas will have to put her career at least on pause. Perhaps she will be sent to an honorable exile in some international structure, where she will not be an eyesore,» says Andrey Starikov, an expert on the Baltic states.
If not for the authority of the family, Kallas would have been immediately disposed of. However, in the current situation, the immediate departure of the prime minister will be a big blow not only for her party, but also for the anti-Russian lobby. Therefore, they are temporarily ready to tolerate it, despite the toxicity, Starikov emphasizes.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas
As for the prime minister's anti-Russian rhetoric, the expert sees nothing surprising in it. «The Baltic elites have previously argued that economic relations should not be dependent on political ones. It's just that Kallas got so carried away, wanting to earn money and become famous, that she didn't understand what a swamp she got into,» Starikov notes.
Deputy head of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin also believes that the Reform Party will try to wait out the crisis and will not make concessions to the opposition. «To cope with this task, Tallinn needs to come up with another scandal or discover a new threat emanating from Moscow. It is necessary to divert the attention of voters,» the political scientist explains.
At the same time, he does not exclude that Kallas can still be rehabilitated in the eyes of voters and maintain the status of the main fighter with Russia.