Urmas Klaas, the Reform Party's candidate for mayor of Tartu, said he couldn't imagine that Reform Party leader Kristen Michal would come from Tallinn to Tartu to teach how things should be done.
Isamaa and the Reform Party agreed on Tuesday that the position of mayor of Tartu belongs to the Reform Party, and the position of chairman of the city council belongs to Isamaa. However, Isamaa chairman Urmas Reinsalu said on Wednesday morning that this decision should be reconsidered.
Klaas told ERR that the regions of the parties should be free in their decisions. "I can't imagine that Kristen Michal, as chairman of the party, would come to Tartu to order and teach me how I should lead the region. We have run for office in Tartu and achieved results here. This is our responsibility and freedom to make decisions," said Klaas.
The talks on Wednesday were attended by Kaspar Kokk, Joel Luhamets, and Priit Humal from Isamaa. From the Reform Party, Urmas Klaas, Toomas Kapp, and Martin Pekk participated. Klaas did not know why Isamaa representative Tõnis Lukas was absent from Wednesday's talks.
Klaas said the agenda included the structure of coalition talks and education topics. "We agreed to involve representatives of the factions in the talks according to their topics. If necessary, we will also bring in experts from outside the factions," explained Klaas.
Klaas said that the Reform Party and Isamaa agreed that they want to finalize the coalition agreement by November 10. The parties will meet again on Thursday and then discuss education topics.