Yesterday, exactly two months to the day since the parliamentary election on 17 April, Finland’s government negotiations finally concluded. The moderate conservative Kokoomus party, the Social Democrats, Left Alliance, Greens, Swedish People’s Party, and Christian Democrats finally came to agreement on a government programme. The leader of Kokoomus, Jyrki Katainen, is now set to become Finland’s next Prime Minister.
The new government programme is marked by many compromises. It is a broad coalition of ideologically diverse parties that Katainen has been forced to sow together after the success of the True Finns, and their massive gain in seats, in April’s election.
The Swedish People’s Party (SFP) will get the positions of Defence Minister and Justice Minister. Party chairman Stefan Wallin will fill the defence portfolio, whilst the parliament member from Jakobstad and current chairman of Folktinget (the Swedish Assembly in Finland) Anna-Maja Henriksson will lead the Justice Ministry. She is also a lawyer by education. These are heavy-weight portfolios and give SFP more influence than in the last government. Defence will ensure that Wallin is able to protect the Swedish-speaking Nylands brigad when necessary defence budget cutbacks are announced. Justice also has a role in linguistic policy, in e.g. courts and administrative district reforms. Henriksson’s ministry will also be responsible for the shaping of the reforms of Åland’s autonomy, which is expected to be expanded during this government’s mandate.
SFP has also managed to ensure that much of the action plan of former President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Martti Ahtisaari on how Finland’s bilingual nature will be strengthened is included in the new government’s programme.
Naturally, the most important mission for the new government will be to balance the economy. This is going to mean cut-backs in many areas. It will be interesting to see if this does not lead to conflict between the individual parties as they try to limit the extent of these cut-backs to areas that particularly effect their electorate or the areas covered by their ministries. It could be a bumpy ride, in spite of yesterday’s agreement on a comprehensive government programme.
Pictured: Anna-Maja Henriksson (SFP), Finland’s incoming Justice Minister
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Sunday 19.6.11 at 15:34
Rasmus
This is good news for SFP. The first time the party has controlled two ministries for 20 years. An awful lot of their election programme has been incorporated into the government programme. Let’s hope this government manages to last the full four years. It could be the most influence SFP has had for a long time. Finally, they have not sold out key principals to join a government as so often in the past.
I actually wonder if Katainen has had a positive attitude towards SFP because they have been fairly loyal to the Coalition party during the negotiations process. That gamble seems to have paid off, even if they have annoyed SDP in the process.
Sunday 19.6.11 at 16:06
asdf@asdf.com
“Wallin is able to protect the Swedish-speaking Nylands brigad”
That’s a huge fucking garrison. No way they would close it.
Sunday 19.6.11 at 16:19
Jonas
I don’t think that is necessarily obvious. If True Finns had been in government they may have tried to close it. Their defence spokesperson said it would be the first to go if cut backs had to be made. Related, Timo Soini told his party’s congress this weekend that he hoped that Wallin’s defence ministry would not mean that Finland’s military would go the way of Sweden’s. More populist rubbish, as if to suggest Wallin is from Sweden not Finland and to somehow, by suggestion, infer that Swedish-speaking Finns are not “proper Finns”. That said, Wallin is not going to have an easy job. Cutbacks are going to have to be made somewhere, the budget situation makes it unavoidable. He’s not going to be universally popular in defence circles.
That said, I tend to agree that it would be difficult to justify closing Nylands brigad. Not only because it is the only place for Swedish-speaking conscripts to get their education, but also because Dragsvik is an important station for the training of Finland’s contribution to the joint Nordic Battle Group.
Tuesday 21.6.11 at 13:36
asdasdffasd
“Their defence spokesperson said it would be the first to go if cut backs had to be made.”
= No closing of garrisons.
“Timo Soini told his party’s congress this weekend that he hoped that Wallin’s defence ministry would not mean that Finland’s military would go the way of Sweden’s. More populist rubbish, as if to suggest Wallin is from Sweden not Finland and to somehow, by suggestion, infer that Swedish-speaking Finns are not “proper Finns”.”
Nope. Not at all. Sweden no longer has (universal) conscription and has been slowly cutting the numbers of their armed forces to insignificance. It’s easy for them to do it, because they don’t share a long border with a large country with a million man army.
These cuts are just a part of a bigger plan towards NATO and professional army:
First, you cut the number of conscripts, “saving” money.
Then you conclude that the small conscript army is no match for a professional army.
When you have professional army, it is found to be too small to defend the country and NATO membership is needed for national security, because you can’t increase the military expenditure.
NATO requires the military to be modernized, which calls for a larger military budget.
Professional army pushes towards part-taking in international military operations, because they don’t like to sit down doing nothing.
The end result is a small military that is unable to defend the whole country, with the military budget doubled in comparison of what it currently is. Also included is NATO membership, which is mainly political in nature and, in case of full-blown war, largely useless in defending the country. And since we are in NATO, we will be fighting some idiotic wars abroad alongside the Americans (á la Denmark), which makes us a target for the terrorists. Brillant!
Wednesday 22.6.11 at 1:27
Troels-Peter
Has the government programme been published somewhere?
Wednesday 22.6.11 at 21:49
Jonas
Hi Asdasdffasd, Thanks for your comment and welcome to this blog.
It is not about what Sweden has or has not doing that was wrong with Soini’s comments. It was his populist suggestion that Wallin is somehow Swedish (as in the country) in identity, i.e. that because a Swedish-speaking Finn is the Defence Minister, Finland is suddenly at risk of implementing Sweden-style defence policies. I.e. He was pandering to the latent anti-Swedishness in his party.
I happen to agree with conscription, that is not to say that it does not need reform. Does it really need to be six months? Four months is probably enough to cover what is currently taught to recruits who stay for the minimum.
Hi Troels-Peter,
The government programme has indeed been published on the government’s website, here is a direct link to the programme in PDF format: http://www.statsradet.fi/hallitus/hallitusohjelma/pdf332889/fi332892.pdf
Wednesday 22.6.11 at 22:20
Troels-Peter
Thanks! It looks pretty easygoing. We’ll see how it works out in practice…
Thursday 23.6.11 at 22:22
asdasdffasd
“It was his populist suggestion that Wallin is somehow Swedish (as in the country) in identity, i.e. that because a Swedish-speaking Finn is the Defence Minister, Finland is suddenly at risk of implementing Sweden-style defence policies. I.e. He was pandering to the latent anti-Swedishness in his party.”
…or he was recognizing that SFP is a party on the political right and that’s exactly what they would like to do.
It’s insane how everything about True Finns is by default interpreted racist and xenophobic.
“Four months is probably enough to cover what is currently taught to recruits who stay for the minimum.”
It is enough to *teach* the stuff.
I wonder, though, if it is enough to fully imprint it or the full “military mindset” on one’s mind.
That takes time. And time also allows for more practice.
Friday 24.6.11 at 11:48
Timothy Bryan
Guys,
Just for an outsiders perspective, is the length of conscription only 6 months? If so, that is not a very long time to have folks be a very effective fighting force, is indeed there is a need for that in Finland.
Tuesday 28.6.11 at 14:05
Jonas
Well, of course it is a matter of debate as to whether we really do need to train militarily approaching 100% of all men in a day and age in which militaries are increasingly mechanised. There is of course a moral dimension too. If we suggest that six months is not long enough and thus it should be increased, do we do that for all conscripts? Is it not already asking a lot to compel every male to serve 6 months in the military? Is it also not sexist? Women do not have (but may choose) to serve.
I think six months is certainly long enough, if not too long. A lot of conscripts’ time these days is spent sitting around doing very little or nothing. They could certainly make the training more effective and efficient and fit it into less time without learning less. There will always be people who are interested in serving for longer as well and it is in our military’s interest to ensure it is those that are motivated that are trained into more specialised/senior roles and spend time doing the extended periods of conscription.
I am not trying to sound anti-military service here. As I said previously, I favour it. But, I am also not against reform.
Asdasdffasd, it is way too simplistic to say that SFP is party on the political right. SFP is a complicated beast that somewhat defies categorisation. It is certainly (almost) always placed in the non-socialist camp, but it is a broad church housing many different viewpoints and does not have an insignificant number of members who express views that are very similar to social democrats’.
Tuesday 28.6.11 at 19:02
Timothy Bryan
Jonas,
I was simply thinking in terms of training and effectiveness, I know in my 4 years in the military I was simply scraping the service, as it was often thought the most knowledgeable troops were the ones with 6-10 years in service.
Tuesday 28.6.11 at 19:02
Timothy Bryan
err I meant scraping the surface….
Tuesday 28.6.11 at 19:59
Jonas
Hi Timothy,
I am sure that is true. But let’s not forget we have a conscription-based military in Finland, not a professional army as in the USA. We can’t expect conscripts to serve for 6-10 years. We also need to remember that the political situations and defence policies of the Finland and the USA are radically different, and the militaries are thus expected to perform very different roles. America has a very active policy with the USA participating regularly in wars (e.g. the Gulf Wars, Afghanistan etc). Finland on the other hand has a history of being neutral, although that can not be said to be the case any longer. Nonetheless, the primary role for Finland’s military is to defend the country in the case of a direct military threat to it. We are not expecting to participate in the large scale offensive operations abroad of the type that the USA expects its military to be able to perform.
Conscripts that perform well are selected to stay longer. And of course we do have professionals in our defence forces as well, in limited numbers. You might be interested to know that Finland is a part of one of the battalions in the EU rapid reaction force. Our contingent is in fact based and trained in Dragsvik, the home of Nylands brigad (the Swedish-speaking brigade).
I hope you had a good midsummer! Did you get to spend it in Finland? Have you moved here yet or when do you do so?
Wednesday 29.6.11 at 20:16
asdasdffasd
“Is it not already asking a lot to compel every male to serve 6 months in the military? Is it also not sexist?”
No. It’s not a lot, really. Neither is 12 months.
It’s not fun while you’re in service, but it’s not too much to ask.
Sexist, however? Yes, it is.
I would compel women to civil service (by default) and force Jehova’s witnesses (etc.) to serve as well. I get refusing to serve in the military for moral reasons, but I really don’t understand conscientious objectors, who refuse civil service as well (apart from the non-sexist angle). Helping children and the sick and the elderly is obviously incredibly immoral.
You could then expand the concept to include the complete crisis management and include the civil side of things.
Thursday 30.6.11 at 11:43
Timothy Bryan
Jonas,
I understand the military angle, and I do respect that young men are expected to serve
I will be coming to Finland next March to scout out where I will live. I am trying to decide between Raseborg and Pargas, though I am open minded to other options as well. I will probably be coming on a self-employment visa eventually, which is going to take some time, both for the need to disengage from work here and to get the proper paperwork in order for the processing of the permit to live there for myself and family. All the while I will be reading your blog here
I hope all is well with you; know that I immensely enjoy your efforts. Det är roligt att läsa alla åsikterna om svenska talarna i finland
Friday 1.7.11 at 14:48
Jonas
Timothy,
Good luck with the visa process. I would imagine that if you moved to either Raseborg or Pargas you should relatively easily find courses in Swedish for immigrants. Both (especially Ekenäs in my opinion) are charming places in the summer time. From Pargas, you can always commute to Åbo for work (and when you need a bigger city). I suppose Ekenäs is commutable to Helsingfors, but a little longer journey time – although we have less tolerance for long commuting than Americans, I know many American colleagues who think nothing of an hours drive to work and home again every day, so I am sure it IS commutable for you
. In any case, they are upgrading the road 51 to a motorway part of the way, so the drive should get faster.
I can tell you that is nearly +30° here today, it’s been very (too) hot the last few days. It is nice to be on holiday and have some sun though! It makes the winter worth living through.
Saturday 2.7.11 at 16:37
Timothy Bryan
Jonas,
Thanks, I look forward to seeing everything there. When I move there I will work from home, so fortunately will not have to commute, unless I decide the do the PHD thing
I hope you are enjoying your hot summer! I think Finland is like where I live in the Winter, COLD!
Thursday 7.7.11 at 13:11
Jonas
Just to briefly return to the matter of defence.
Defence minster Stefan Wallin (SFP) yesterday made it clear that he thinks that the 200 million euro cuts to the defence budget set out in the new government’s programme are too high. Wallin said that it risked putting Finland’s defence capability at risk. He also made it clear that he is against shortening the current six month shortest period of military service/conscription. Wallin said that he thought that 100 million euro of cut should be the highest possible.
So, there you get a better idea of Stefan Wallin’s ideas on defence. It’s worth pointing out that Wallin was the only party leader apart from Timo Soini (True Finns) that was against defence spending cuts in the pre-election debates.
In reality, of course, Wallin will have a difficult time and will have to enact cuts. The budget and economic situation dictates it.