Role of the elderly care in the victory of the Social Democrats

The demographics of an ageing population are one factor that makes the elderly an important electoral constituency in Finland. Apart from being voters themselves, they are also an important object of political concern by others. In this Politico interview, made before the election, I suggested the scandal over private elderly care providers in January was a decisive moment. “Media coverage of the case created an image of greedy corporations putting profit before the needs of the elderly”.

Finally, the center-right National Coalition Party, that had been most closely associated with privatization, did not do all that horribly. It was the Center Party that took a much bigger blow because of the previous government’s mistakes (perceived and real). In any case, as a contrafactual claim, I continue to suggest the Social Democrats would not be the biggest party in the April 14 elections without the scandal of the elderly care.

Election in Finland: Difficult Coalition Building Ahead

Social Democrats become the biggest party in the Finnish parliamentary election of April 14, followed by the Finns Party. Greens and Left Alliance make significant advances, National Coalition Party maintains its position.

Difficult coalition building ahead. The Finns Party probably out, even if the National Coalition Party might want to flirt with it if only to threaten social democrats with the possibility of right-wing coalition in order to get a better negotiating position.

The Greens likely to be in any foreseeable coalition. The Swedish People’s Party also quite likely junior partner. The Left Alliance got the first advance in seats since 1995. Not impossible that they would also enter the government, but hard to find common agenda if the National Coalition Party also in. The Center Party lost big time, but it is not impossible that it could be a useful piece in some coalition, perhaps along the lines of the classical Popular Front governments.

Katalonia-keskustelun roiskeita

Katalonian syrjäytetty aluejohtaja Carles Puigdemont pistäytyi Suomessa. Isännöin hänen vierailunsa yhteydessä Helsingin yliopiston valtiotieteellisen tiedekunnan järjestämää esitelmä- ja keskustelutilaisuutta.

Tilaisuudessa tuli Puigdemontin esitelmän jälkeen vilkasta keskustelua, jossa esiintyi monenlaisia näkemyksiä Katalonian ja Espanjan tilanteesta.
Continue reading

Maailmanpoliittinen kansalliskävely Helsingin kirjamessuilla 2017

Kirjani tuoreeltaan nostattamia mediakeskusteluja. Niitä voi jatkaa Kirjamessuilla ja muissa tulevissa tapahtumissa, joiden ennakkotietoja ohessa. 

Kirjani Maailmanpoliittinen kansalliskävely tuli tovi sitten painosta. Kävelen kirjassa Helsingissä, kysellen Suomen historiasta ja tulevaisuudesta. Kolme kirjan lukua sai heti alkuun jonkin verran mediahuomiota. Parin viikon jälkeen siitä ehtikin jo tulla toinen painos.

Luvussa “Kansan edustaja” nostan esiin kansanedustaja Ozan Yanarin kohtaaman rasismin eduskunnan sisällä. Aluksi asiasta uutisoi Iltalehti otsikolla Kansanedustaja syyttää toista edustajaa rasismista eduskunnan istuntosalissa – “Kohta alkaa jihad!”. Sen jälkeen asiasta uutisoivat muutkin mediat, esimerkiksi Verkkouutiset ja Demokraatti.

Luku “Valkoisen vallan puolesta” sisältää Pataässän, Erottajan, Kolmen Kruunun ja monen muun ravintolan omistajan Jouni Lanamäen haastattelun. Siitä uutisoi ensimmäisenä Helsingin Sanomat otsikolla Jouni Lanamäki kuohutti 1990-luvulla rasismilla, vetäytyi julkisuudesta ja loi kaikessa hiljaisuudessa karaokebaarien imperiumin Helsinkiin – Nyt hän avaa suunsa 25 vuoden jälkeen. Keskustelua jatkoi esimerkiksi Pohjoismaiden suurin gaylehti QX artikkelilla Pyörittääkö homobaareja rasisti?

Luku “Erillishakaristi” sai sen sijaan huomiota Suomen rajojen ulkopuolella. Siitä kertoi tuoreeltaan Yhdysvaltojen rahoittama Radio Free Europe (Radio Svoboda), jonka venäjänkielinen juttu oli otsikoitu Lahja Kremlille. Myös Kremliä itseään lähellä oleva Sputnik News ruoti kirjaani otsikolla ‘A Token of Belonging to the West’: Why Finland Is so Fond of Its Swastikas.
Continue reading

A Swastika Dialogue between Foreigner and Finn

In Finland, the swastika continues to be an official emblem of the Air Force command. It is also used in some other parts of the Finnish armed forces.

As I have been studying conversations around this issue, let me offer a brief synthesis of some of the dialogues that take place during my World Political City Walks. I will explore this issue more in my forthcoming book on Finnish nationalism.
-Foreigner: What the fuck?

-Finn: You should understand it is our traditional symbol and has nothing to do with the Nazis.

-Foreigner: Well, there truly is something very special about you Finns, if you believe the world agrees that your swastika has nothing to do with the nazis.

-Finn: OUR swastika truly has NOTHING to do with the nazis. We used it before there was any nazi party. Continue reading

How Finns Party’s Racist Turn Might Shake Government of Finland?

Now it’s real. Finland’s government includes a party that just elected a person convicted for a racist crime (ethnic agitation) as its new leader. The question is obviously not simply about Jussi Halla-aho’s criminal behavior, but that the party has decided to take a turn away from its agrarian populist roots and toward racism. Continue reading

A Tweet of May that Matters. First Reflections on a Hung Parliament after the UK Election

Tweets matter. Among the many moments in the month of May that Prime Minister Theresa May may regret, there exists one tweet.

On May 20, she declared:

Was this tweet “the shortest suicide note in history”? Can its message be undone? There surely would be nothing new in post-electoral deeds that deviate from pre-electoral words. Continue reading

Reformlessness Debt: Conceptual Innovation by PM Sipilä

A new political concept emerged today. Uudistamattomuusvelka. My immediate rough translation is reformlessness debt. For clarity, we could also say debt due to an accumulated lack of reform.

In my understanding, the concept refers to a metaphorical debt that has accumulated because previous governments have been unable or unwilling to make reforms. To the extent these reforms are necessary, the debt can be considered a reason for making the needed reforms with a bang, in a hurry, today. Continue reading

Chancellor of Justice and Constitutional Scholars Criticise Government of Finland

Criticism of the government in Finland has transgressed standard opposition talk.

Today the main newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published an interview of the Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka. One of his main tasks is to supervise the lawfulness of the official acts of the government. His comments suggested in calm but clear manner that the current government has repeatedly sidestepped constitutional considerations when making law proposals in the parliament. Continue reading