Prime Minister Mart Laar, Estonia's government leader, said Wednesday he'll resign, effective Jan. 8

Prime Minister Mart Laar, Estonia's longest-serving government leader, said Wednesday he'll resign, effective Jan. 8; the Cabinet would automatically step down with him. His decision follows weeks of infighting in the three-party, center-right governing coalition, which Laar has led since 1999 elections. He served as premier from 1992-94. The 41-year-old told parliament that the continuation of his government, with coalition partners openly bickering, could "endanger key goals of Estonia," notably winning membership in the European Union and the NATO military alliance. "There's not trust in the coalition anymore," he told deputies, some of whom later expressed surprise at the announcement. Laar, who heads the center-right Pro Patria party, has been a darling of free-market proponents for his no-nonsense reforms in the early '90s, when he slashed subsidies, reduced tariffs to near zero and implemented a simplified flat tax. He's also been an outspoken proponent of integrating Estonia as completely and as quickly as possible with the West, saying as recently as last week that he'd shave his trade-mark blond beard if Estonia won an invitation to join NATO. The fiscal conservative announced he'd resign just after parliament approved the 2002 budget Wednesday, saying he wanted to make sure a balanced budget was enshrined in law before stepping down.