TALLINN (Reuters) – Estonia’s far-right EKRE, part of the ruling coalition, has ousted the EU-member state’s third trade minister since last year’s elections amid political infighting as it battles the coronavirus outbreak.
Kaimar Karu was one of five ministers chosen by the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), whose anti-immigration message helped the party more than double its support in the 2019 elections, winning broad support in poorer areas.
He was not a member of the party.
“This morning Mart Helme, the head of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia, called me and informed me that he will recall me from the minister’s position because ‘the co-operation is not working and the party is not pleased’,” Karu wrote in social media post.
The prime minister approved the sacking.
Export-dependent Estonia’s economy has been hit bad by the coronavirus, with the gloomiest estimates forecasting a 14% drop in GDP this year. The country has recorded 1,459 infections and 38 deaths.
EKRE is the second largest partner in Estonia’s government whose programme includes some of the party’s strict immigration policies, pledging to expel foreign workers when their contracts end.
Karu took the job from Kert Kingo six months ago when she left following a hiring scandal. Kingo’s predecessor, Mart Kuusik, lasted just a day in the job.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; editing by Nick Macfie)
