Guns in parliament, Obi Wan Kenobi in Lahti and new MEPs in Strasbourg

Hello Insiders!

You’d think, logically, that summer means holiday time. But not for news! I always think that Midsummer means the start of vacations but in Finland the national parliament continues for a few more weeks afterwards. And then just when you think it’s all over - the session wrapped up last Friday - the European Parliament starts its new session. Phew!

At least it gives us plenty to talk about! Coming up in this week’s Finland Insider newsletter we’ve got the latest on guns in parliament, a celebrity sighting, far-right fight club, a big European summit at a fancy English palace, and Finland’s dramatic slump down a list of places foreigners want to live and work.

All that is still to come, but first this:

Insider Original

Since the dark days of the Lahti cross-country ski doping scandals, testing and education has come a long way in Finland. Out of more than 2,800 tests every year only a handful come back positive. For the 57 athletes competing in 14 sports at the Paris Olympics there’s a rigorous regime of testing and education before they get on the plane. Read more in this original story:

Inside the headlines

Shooting. Remember the shooting outside a Helsinki bar involving Finns Party MP Timo Vornanen back in April? The now-independent MP - he was kicked out of Perus after the incident - writes on FB that the case is headed to the prosecution phase and police say he’s admitted to taking a gun into parliament on at least two occasions.

“The suspect said in his last interrogation that he twice brought a gun with him to his office. On the day of the incident, he had left his office with a gun," investigation director Jukka Larkio said in a press release.

Helsingin Sanomat talked to various politicians who said they were worried, dismayed, shocked and horrified (among other things) at the idea of an MP wandering around parliament with a loaded gun.

Reservists. A new amendment to the Conscription Act came into force this week which allows reservists to be called up to help the Border Guard in case of security emergencies along the border with Russia (or any other border, although let’s face it, it’s all about Russia!)

Reservists, redux. Helsingin Sanomat looks at the growing number of Finnish men quitting the reserves - a number that’s been on the rise since Russia launched it’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - and asking a few ex-reservists what motivated them.

Border. And speaking of the border… President Stubb signed the controversial new border law into force. Reminder, briefly: The new law allows border guards to turn away third-country migrants attempting to enter from Russia and reject their asylum applications because Helsinki says Moscow is orchestrating an influx of migrants to the border. Supporters of the law say it strengthens the nation’s security while opponents say it breaks international treaties, EU law and the Finnish constitution.

Boxing. Finland’s best-known professional boxer Robert Helenius has been given a lengthy ban after testing positive for a banned substance.

Fighting. Finland’s intelligence police Supo has warned about the rise of far-right fight clubs in different parts of the country, which seem at first to be promoting a healthy active lifestyle through martial arts but which are just, Supo says, a front for ethno-nationalism and extremism.

Starstruck. Continuing a very Finnish tradition of getting excited when anyone famous visits Finland (or mentions Finland, or wears Marimekko…) Scottish actor Ewan McGregor popped up in Lahti this week.

Inside Politics

Polls. The latest political poll in Helsingin Sanomat puts the Social Democrats and the National Coalition Party on level-pegging at 20.8% support each (note: that’s a slight drop for Demarit, and a slight increase for Kokoomus to get to this figure.) The Finns Party are back in third place with 15.6% (up slightly); while Keskusta are in fourth place with 11.8% support (down slightly). It seems the Centre Party haven’t reaped any benefits yet from a change of leader, and if you missed my interview with their new chairman Antti Kaikkonen you can catch up here:

European Parliament. The new crop of Finnish MEPs, and returning parliamentarians, got stuck in this week as a new term got underway. So what have they been up to? Here’s a snapshot from their social media posts and interviews:

Left Alliance. The left-wing group proposed a debate on Gaza in the European Parliament, but the proposal was not approved. The silence about the genocide in Gaza is shocking. We will continue our work to highlight the situation in Palestine and to bring about actions to end the genocide.

Greens.Ville Niinistöhas been looking at US politics: “Trump's choice of vice-presidential candidate is confirmed:EU countries need to stand on their own two feet in security too. Soon. Supporting Ukraine against a war of aggression by Russia is one of the EU's most important tasks to secure the future of democracy in Europe. The US can turn inwards.”

If you missed my interview with the Greens’ Maria Ohisalo a few weeks ago about her plans for being an MEP in Brussels, here’s the link:

Finns Party. Sebastian Tynkkynen has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to complain that a candidate from the left was voted as a parliament vice president, with the help of European Peoples’ Party MEPs, instead of a candidate from a far-left grouping he voted for. He says it’s “incomprehensible” that now the left has a vice president slot when they are a small grouping compared to the far-right which is a bigger grouping. As Jussi Saramo from the Left Alliance asked him “why would you have wanted the Putin-funded extreme right and Orban's coalition to be represented in the leadership of the parliament?” A fair question.

Demarit. The incoming and outgoing Social Democrats have also been posing for pictures in Strasbourg. Eero Heinäluoma joined the Finnish praise for re-elected EP President Roberta Metsola from Malta, calling her a “friend of Finland.” “It's great to see a skilled representative of a small country still at the forefront of European democracy. 562 votes shows a genuine appreciation. Congratulations and good luck in a demanding job!”

Fun fact: Roberta Metsola’s head of communications is a Finn, formerly a Kokoomus official who worked with several government ministers in Helsinki, including Alex Stubb, before moving to Brussels.

Baby boom. Back at the parliament in Helsinki there’s been something of a baby boom in recent weeks. Over the weekend Eveliina Heinäluoma (SDP) gave birth to a baby girl, while Jouni Ovaska (Centre) welcomed a baby boy into his family.

Finland International

Europe. President Stubb attended the one-day European Political Community summit amid the splendour of Blenheim Palace in England. He said the three reasons this gathering was so important were 1) It brings together the whole of Europe, not just the EU, NATO or the EEA. 2) It sends a clear message to Russia: Europe is united. 3) It brings Britain back into Europe - “without original sin.” (aka: nobody mention Brexit!)

Hungary. A quick poll of Finnish MEPs by public broadcaster Yle finds most of them would be in favour of more sanctions against Hungary, including stripping them of the current rotating EU Council Presidency.

UK. One of the new Labour MPs sworn in this week in London is Noah Law, who spent the past five years living and working in Finland. MTV Uutiset tracked him down for an interview.

Expats. Finland has slumped from 16th place to 51st place in the new Expat Insider survey which ranks 53 countries for expat in areas like quality of life, working conditions, standard of living, and ease of settling into society. Only Turkey and Kuwait ranked worse than Finland. Spain is the top EU country on the list at number 5. The CEO of the Finnish Startup Community says the collapse is “almost unbelievable” especially when Finland needs to attract more foreign workers.

Thank you, kiitos, tack!

It was another politics-heavy newsletter this week especially because of the first session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg - it will migrate next back to Brussels - and me wanting to paint a full picture of what our news MEPs have been up to and occupied with.

I would like to promise less politics next week but you never know what’s just around the corner! Thanks for sticking with Finland Insider over the summer and you’ll get the next newsletter on Friday as usual.

David