Donald Trump, tax transparency, political polling and snowy robots

Hello Insiders! 

It’s been another one of those big weeks for news (but really, when is it not?!) and if like me you stayed up on Tuesday night to watch some of the US election results coming in then you’ve probably been trying to make up that sleep deficit ever since!

I remember the first Trump victory when we all expected Hilary Clinton would win. I was in the Helsingin Sanomat newsroom waiting to do a live broadcast and because the result took a long time to be called, we kept pushing the start time further and further back and our poor political analysts were relying on the coffee to stay awake!

So I thought this week we’d start with the Finnish reaction to Trump’s election victory in the US: from the hasty charm offensive to the deeper messaging being pushed out by ministers.

Plus: Tax transparency day, cuts to Yle, frozen robots and Ukraine in the headlines.

Finland international

Congratulations. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) and President Alexander Stubb were both very quick to tweet out their congratulations to Donald Trump early on Wednesday morning, they both said more or less the same thing.

Television. Later on Tuesday, Stubb did an interview on CNN about the US election which he promoted in advance, and then shared several clips on social media. In the conversation with Christiane Amanpour, Stubb said (without a hint of irony about Finland’s own political situation!) that “the mega-trend for 2024” is the rejection of free trade and immigration in a further shift to the right. This trend, Stubb says, has been happening since the end of the financial crisis. Watch more here:

Beyond the ‘headline act’ of Stubb on CNN, foreign minister Elina Valtonen set out some stronger foreign policy messages about Europe, Ukraine and the incoming Trump administration (her State Secretary, long-time Kokoomus operative Pasi Rajala, who has filled in for Valtonen at a couple of international meetings recently, reinforced this message as well to his network on social media).

“Europe must and will do more for its security. We’re on the right track, certainly compared to Trump’s previous term. Second, we need more cooperation and trade across the Atlantic, not less. You don’t set tariffs against your friends and allies, which not only weakens them but yourself, too. Third, there is no negotiation on Ukraine without Ukraine.”

Mixed. There have been some other mixed reactions from experts to Trump’s election win and what it means for Finland. Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns) says Finland will have to increase its defence spending and that Europe needs to learn to take care of its own defence need. Meanwhile, economist Vesa Vihriälä writes that a new Trump presidency might weaken Finland’s defence, if he’s intent on undermining or leaving NATO. And Mikko Hautala, the former Finnish ambassador to Washington, told Yle on Saturday morning that Finland should watch and wait to see what direction Trump’s policies actually take.

Of course there are other, non-US things happening internationally this week which concern Finland:

Ukraine. Stubb had a call on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There’s a lot more detail in Zelenskyy’s tweet (below).

Ukraine 2. PM Orpo has also been talking about Ukraine and the US this week. “I think we have to give a clear message here today to the United States and the new administration that we support Ukraine as long and as much as needed. The message has to be clear and strong.” He also reiterated that Europe “must do more” to build up its own security capacity.

Ukraine 3. Left Alliance MEP Li Andersson took a group of her left-wing colleagues to Ukraine this week, to show them the realities of what is happening there. Andersson told the media that while there is support for financial aid to Ukraine, there can be resistance from the left on sending weapons because of the group’s strong links to the peace movement. “When you get MEPs to create personal relationships with Ukrainians, it keeps the discussion alive within the European left, and this way even more actors get to understand what the realities of the war in Ukraine are," Andersson told HS.

Amsterdam. Finns Party MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen gave a speech in the European Parliament (rightly) condemning violence between Israeli football supporters and pro-Palestinian groups in Amsterdam. The incidents happened late Wednesday night after a match. But then in true Finns Party style Tynkkynen - who has several convictions in Finnish courts for ethnic agitation against minority groups - managed to make the speech about the dangers of “mass immigration.” But of course.

Inside the headlines

Immigration. Finland needs more skilled immigrants due to population decline. But the government is making it much more difficult for immigrants to stay in the country, creating a so-called ‘hostile environment’ for them, and this week Migri reports the number of work-based residence permits is down this year so far by 5% while the number of specialist applications is down by 24%. Go figure.

Tax. Thursday was tax transparency day, when it’s revealed which Finns paid the most in tax, and therefore gives a clue to how much they’re worth: something of an obsession with Finnish media, especially the tabloids. A survey from Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA found that while 55% of Finns don’t think tax transparency is too intrusive, a similar number 52% find it a pointless annual exercise.

Daddies. Kela said this week that paternity leaves in Finland have nearly doubled in length after a 2022 reform of the parental leave system. The change granted both parents equal amounts of leave for the first time: 160 days each of paid leave, to be used before the child turns two. Sixty-three of the days can be transferred to the other parent, if desired.

GPS. Three airports in Eastern Finland are reintroducing radio navigation equipment to facilitate aircraft landings during times that authorities believe Russia is interfering with satellite navigation. Airports in Joensuu and Savonlinna - both about an hour's drive from the Russian border - introduced refitted ground equipment in September; while Lappeenranta is planning to do the same as soon as possible, Reuters reports.

The radio-based Distance Measuring Equipment, previously widely used in aviation, provides an alternative approach method for aircraft during GPS interference.

Yle. Public broadcaster Yle has had a rough year so far - mostly under fire from the far-right for supposedly being “woke” in terms of offering diversity and inclusivity training to staff. Now the CEO Merja Ylä-Antillä says they are considering freezing bonuses and salaries for her position and the rest of the Yle board. The comments come at the end of a week when Yle announced talks would begin to cut 375 staff in a bid to save €66 million.

Party. Invitations for the annual 6 December Independence Day celebrations at the presidential palace have started to arrive - but skateboard star Heili Sirviö, one of the few highlights at an otherwise dreadful summer Olympics for Finland - probably won’t be getting one as she’s too young. The athlete is just 13-years-old while the age limit for the party is 18. Surely they could make an exception just this one time?

Inside politics

Poll. A new Yle opinion poll this week showed the Social Democrats extending their lead with 24.3% support. The National Coalition Party is in second place, down to 18.8% while the Finns Party falls to 15.7% in third place. If you add up the support for all the government coalition parties - NCP, Finns, Christian Democrats, Swedish People’s Party - this is the lowest they’ve polled since taking office.

KINO. Kokoomus MP Tere Sammallahti hit the headlines this week for his comments about a Social Democrat MP. The latest incident happened after Ville Merinen wrote that he’d asked ChatGPT ‘how to destroy the social welfare state’ and the programme’s answer had been ‘adopt the policies of Petteri Orpo’s government.” For the LOLZ, I imagine.

But then Sammallahti weighed in: “Are you the same man who recently wailed with tears in his eyes about the parliament's debate culture? That might give a bystander the suspicion that you, Ville, faked a little to get publicity.”

 And finally…

Robots that deliver groceries for Finnish supermarkets are arguably the cutest types of robots. But when the robot uprising happens, you still want to make sure you’re on their good side: so if you see one stuck in the snow, don’t forget to give it a helping hand!

Thank you, kiitos, tack

That’s all for this week, thank you for reading to the end. If you’ve got any story suggestions, news tips or scoops feel free to message me directly at [email protected] and I’d be happy to take a look.

In the meantime - have a great weekend and catch you next Saturday.

David