Presidential candidates Sari Essayah (CD), Jutta Urpilainen (SDP), Olli Rehn (Centre), Pekka Haavisto (Greens) and Jussi Halla-aho (PS) took part in an election debate hosted by MTV in Helsinki on Wednesday, 24 January 2024. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)
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THE ESCALATING CONFLICT between the government and trade unions brought to the fore political differences between the presidential candidates during an election debate hosted on Wednesday by MTV.
Sari Essayah (CD) and Jussi Halla-aho (PS) expressed their support for the labour market reforms and social security cuts that have triggered a series of strike warnings from trade unions.
“These reforms should’ve been done a long time ago,” said Essayah.
“Finland is currently living chronically on debt. With this national economy, we can’t afford to maintain all the important things that we’ve built,” argued Halla-aho.
He reminded that the fate of legislative proposals should be decided by parliament, underscoring that no extra-parliamentary party should be given the right to veto legislative proposals submitted by the government.
Alexander Stubb (NCP) insisted on not choosing sides, viewing that the president should not be a party to labour market disputes or intervene in their details.
“The president of the republic is a unifying factor,” he stated, echoing his campaign slogan. “[The president] doesn’t comment from the government’s side or from the labour market organisation’s side, but from the side of Finland.”
“If the president doesn’t have views, he or she isn’t a unifying but rather an irrelevant factor,” quipped Jutta Urpilainen (SDP).
Urpilainen said the government has demonstrated complete unwillingness to negotiate with trade unions and instead sought to oppress them for ideological reasons. “You can’t develop this country by defeating someone but by bargaining,” she viewed.
Li Andersson (LA) similarly accused the government of deliberately choosing the road of conflict and unilaterally forcing through amendments that undermine the terms and conditions of employees.
“Finland is staking a big step back from the way in which labour markets in the country have been developed,” she stated to MTV.
The Finnish president is primarily responsible for leading foreign policy in co-operation with the government. While its role in domestic policy is small, the president has considerable informal influence.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
