Editorial: a government taking its time to be born

Photo: Urmas Nemvalts

The power trio is showing initial signs of ability to function. Sending the four year budget strategy for parliamentary discussions, they have finally expressed the actual tax amendments intended.

Compared to what they heralded on April 9^th after entering office, the plan has been polished and smoothed. As evidenced in the compromises, finance Sven Sester (IRL) and others perhaps have not idled the 1.5 months away.

By proposing fuel excise rise and hotel VAT lift, interest groups and opposition was stirred to great wrath. And naturally the beer brewers and vodka distillers do their compulsory PR-dance every time the booze excise gets threatened with a boost.

As compared to first 100 days of former governments, this one was different indeed – bitterly and publicly, tax plans were criticized by coalition’s own politicians and even several ministers. 

During the power talks, participants kept lips sealed before public. Once they got the thing signed and entered office, it was elections campaign round two – as if.

To the amazement of many, trust towards the government plummeted fast and clear – from 57 in March to 47 in May. Has there ever been a drop like that, in history? But then: what’s the wonder once we consider that inner party debates burst into the open only after the treaty-of-tree got its signatures?

Traditionally, a coalition agreement is the end result of arguments in principle (a workable compromise), not the trigger to sharp debates. By their own hands, the coalition parties concocted a situation which the citizens just had to interpret as «these guys don’t know what they are doing» – despite the lengthy talks, there was no treaty that would work, no action plan to show. Even with a somewhat satisfactory second try, the initial disaster is difficult to delete.  

So let’s watch the reactions of interest groups and party cadre to the tax ax dulled. If happy, perhaps they were treated properly by government and finance minister in particular. 

In a word: this government is being born the other way round. First the treaty, then the debates. And it’s only after parliament has blinked its green light to the budget strategy presented that we may breathe easy: a government has been born.