Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas remains under significant political pressure, with President Alar Karis writing on 4 September that “My personal preference would have been for the head of government to resign.” Karis' intervention comes as an unexpected event, given that the Estonian presidency is a nominally ceremonial role with the office holder rarely getting involved in domestic political spats.

• The calls for Kallas to resign come after a scandal involving her husband and his firm's links with another Estonian company that has continued doing business in Russia after the launching of the invasion of Ukraine (see here for more details).
• Today, two members of parliament from the centre-left Social Democrats (SDE) - which sit in gov't alongside Kallas' RE - wrote articles lambasting the PM. Peep Peterson called on Kallas to resign, while Raimond Kaljulaid wrote that Kallas' attitude towards the scandal is not befitting of a prime minister.
• While Kallas and her party secured a strong result in the March general election, should the scandal rumble on she could find it increasingly difficult to remain in power. This could presage a new PM from within the RE, a reconfiguration of the governing coalition, or even a snap election.
• While Estonia is one of the smallest eurozone economies it has played an outsized role in the bloc over the past 18 months. Kallas has been one of the most vocal Russia hawks in the EU, advocating for significant increases in support for Ukraine both in materiel and funds.