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.