Estonia all set for new coalition with populists

Bloomberg

Estonia moved towards a new governing coalition that includes a controversial anti-immigrant party, signalling the further spread of populism in the European Union.
Prime Minister Juri Ratas’s ruling Center Party, which snubbed the election-winning Reform party and instead invited the euroskeptic EKRE to talks, overcame opposition from his party’s Russian-speaking members to agree on an alliance that also includes the conservative Isamaa, a junior member of the outgoing government.
The move risks further eroding unity inside the world’s largest trading bloc, where the rise of nationalist politicians has prompted clashes on issues from
migration to democratic standards. The Estonian coalition, which would control 57 of parliament’s 100 seats, still needs a formal mandate from President Kersti Kaljulaid, who gave Reform the first stab at forming a government.
Under the agreement, approved by the three parties’ councils on Saturday, the coalition will conduct “an independent and consistent foreign and security policy based on EU and NATO membership.”