Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said today all options were open for a new coalition after a slim election win.
Yesterday's election gave the his Reform Party 31 seats in the 101-seat parliament, a big jump from 19. Mr Ansip benefited from strong growth figures and rising wealth to record the highest personal score for a candidate in any election at 22,000 votes.
Mr Ansip, a centre-right politician who has overseen growth of more than 11 per cent, has been in power since April 2005 with the left-leaning Centre Party.
Election commission officials open a ballot box after general elections in teh Estonian capital Tallinn
But Mr Ansip said the programme of his Reform Party was closer to that of the nationalist Pro Patria-Res Publica bloc.
"At this stage, you do not find a party leader who rules out co-operation with another party and I do not either," he said.
Mr Ansip, who backs more tax cuts but is reluctant to put brakes on the economy to speed euro adoption, said differences remained over economic policy with the Centre Party, particularly on the question of raising salaries for public sector workers, which the Centre backs.
The election, the first in the world to be held partially via the Internet, gave the Centre Party 29 seats while Pro Patria-Res Publica took 19, a better performance than expected.
Mr Ansip and the Centre Party had ruled with a third, smaller coalition partner, the People's Union, which won six seats.