Olympic dreams, Turku trains, budget deficit, and funeral costs

Hello Insiders!

It’s week two of the Olympic Games in Paris and while it’s not been the most rewarding week for Finnish sports fans there’s still been some amazing performances keeping me gripped to the TV!

Yes, it’s the height of summer but domestic politics rumbles on relentlessly (and that’s just the way I love it!) with the government on the back foot over the budget deficit and one of its flagship infrastructure projects.

Also this week there’s been an unholy amount of comments and attention paid by certain politicians to events in England which has puzzled and intrigued me in equal measure, so we’ll dive into that - plus cute wildlife, good news for one university, and Kamala Harris’s Veep pick wears a Finnish hat! Torille? 🇫🇮 

All that is still to come, but first:

Finland at the Olympics

It’s been - so far - a barren time for medals at the Olympic Games in Paris. The worst performance by Finland at a summer Olympics ever. And there’s no way to sugarcoat it.

Comparisons. It’s really difficult to directly compare the performances of one country at the Olympics to another, because there are so many variables like size of population, funding for sports, whether there’s a focus on pouring money into elite-level athletes likely to do well at the Olympics, or if there is more of a focus on grassroots sports for kids. This could be a rebuilding Olympics for a new generation of athletes coming through for one country, while another has a more experienced generation leaving at the peak of their success after Paris. Or maybe the Finnish Olympic Committee is measuring success by the number of finals reached, or the number of new personal bests or national records achieved rather than podium finishes?

However, if we look at the medal table for other countries in the region we can see it’s hardly a gold rush for our neighbours either: Denmark (with a similar-size population) has (so far) just five medals in five different sports. Norway has only three medals in two sports. Sweden has ten medals in seven sports; and Lithuania has four medals in four different events. There’s nothing (yet) for Estonia, Latvia or Iceland.

Rough waters. One Finnish Olympian, sailor Monika Mikkola has been complaining that she was left with little official support from Olympic Team Finland when she really needed their help. In Marseille, Mikkola told reporters “it’s like running a marathon without water.”

Rivalry. There was drama in the women’s 100m qualifiers on Thursday. Two Finnish runners failed to qualify automatically to the semi-finals: Reetta Hurske and Lotta Harala. Both of these athletes went through to the new Olympic repechage round which gives a second chance to make it to this semis. Harala made it through her repechage while Hurske did not succeed - despite clocking -a faster time than her compatriot, a bone of contention it seems from her reaction online.

Javelin. There were three Finns through to the final of the men’s javelin competition on Thursday evening, an event which has a long tradition of Finnish success. However it was not to be, with Oliver Helander, Lassi Etelätalo and Toni Keränen falling short of the medals.

Bright point. If we’re looking for a bright spot at these games in terms of success, then 13-year-old Heili Sirviö is a competitor to keep an eye on for the future. The skateboarding phenom came fourth against the best in the world, and she’ll only be 17 at the next Olympics in Los Angeles 2028.

Inside the headlines

NATO. The Finnish city of Hämeenlinna is putting itself forward to host a NATO headquarters, citing its “strong defense industry, logistical location and functionality,"

Phones. Centre Party leader Antti Kaikkonen is urging the government to bring in a swift ban on mobile phones for pupils in classrooms. Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz (SFP) supports such a ban but said this week there was a constitutional roadbump that would have to be overcome first before such a ban could be introduced.

Dying. The Evangelical Lutheran Church says that government cuts to its budget mean funeral costs are set to increase, meaning it is getting more expensive to die in Finland.

Allowance. The Finnish Conscripts Union is calling for the government to introduce a new allowance to help conscripts ease back into life and assist the financial adjustment they go through after serving. Such an allowance was previously paid from 1971-1992 and the union estimates it would cost €10.6 million per year to re-introduce it.

Shooting. One of the children injured in April’s deadly Viertola school shooting is still in hospital, months after the attack. One boy was killed and two girls wounded in the attack by a fellow pupil. Police say they hope to have their preliminary investigation wrapped up by the end of August.

Smoke. Finnish police have for the first time confiscated e-cigarettes with illegal drugs inside them and warn it could be part of a new trend among young people to use vapes spiked with cannabinoids.

Journalism. The Ministry of Justice plans to cut the aid it gives to JSN, Finland’s independent media regulatory body. Membership of JSN is voluntary but all the main credible media outlets sign up to its code of conduct and complaints procedure. JSN’s chairperson calls it a “political decision” of the Minister of Justice, who is from the far-right Finns Party. Fun fact: The Finns Party’s own news outlet has not signed up to JSN’s code of conduct for good journalism practice, nor its complaints procedure.

Funding. The University of Eastern Finland is getting an extra €10 million from the European Union. The cash goes towards funding master’s programmes at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Technology.

Donation. Famed Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki this week donated €30,000 to an organisation that helps homeless people.

Sámi. Friday was the UN’s International Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the Sámi Parliament in Inari reminded us that “The purpose of the day is to disseminate and raise awareness of issues affecting indigenous peoples and to highlight the importance of protecting and promoting the rights of indigenous peoples.”

As usual there’s plenty to talk about when it comes to Indigenous rights in Finland, and you can find out more in my recent interview with Sámi Parliament President Pirita Näkkäläjärvi:

Inside politics 

England. A number of Kokoomus and Finns Party politicians have had an obsession - an unhealthy obsession? - with events in England following the stabbing deaths of three young girls in a town in the northeast of the country. Later, far-right agitators whipped up mobs to take to the streets in a number of cities. They targeted foreigners, hotels where asylum seekers are staying, and businesses owned by people of colour - as well as shops, a library and cars.

Kokoomus MP Martin Paasi claimed, in a twisted way, that the liberal / left-wing media in Britain was somehow responsible for inciting the stabbings. Finns Party MP Onni Rostila accused the media of keeping quiet about the immigrant background of the teenager who is now charged with killing the three girls (he was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents). Finns Party leader Riikka Purra found the time to mention that second-generation immigrants are problematic, in her opinion. (Fun fact. Former Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho once told me I was “the least problematic sort of immigrant” in Finland. Still a problem, but not the biggest problem!)

Other right-wing MPs cast the rioters as ordinary people, dissatisfied with government policies on immigration, and expressing their frustrations. English courts disagree: with suspects already rounded up from their homes in the full glare of TV cameras, sent to court and swiftly imprisoned. In fact it’s become a bit of a spectator sport in the UK, as the BBC has been showing the sentencing live, streaming the crimes and verdicts to millions of viewers online.

LGBTQ. Helsingin Sanomat has a nice scoop, about how the Minister for International Trade and Development Ville Tavio (Finns Party) has banned all references to sexual and gender minorities in his official speeches. Hesari also reveals that Tavio leads regular prayer sessions at the ministry.

Budget. Finance Minister Riikka Purra has announced an increased €12.5 billion budget deficit for next year as annual budget talks get underway. Finland’s current right-wing government swept to power on promises of reducing the budget deficit. Opposition leader Antti Lindtman describes the budget proposals as a “shipwreck.”

Trains. One of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects has come off the rails. The much-lauded one-hour fast train connection from Helsinki to Turku, championed by PM Petteri Orpo (Kok) has failed to secure EU money for construction, and now Orpo admits his government will only pay to upgrade the cheapest parts of the route, and leave the majority of the work to a future government.

Finland International

Belarus. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) reminded us on Friday that it was the 4th anniversary of “the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to peacefully defend their right to choose their own future. Finland supports a democratic Belarus and stands with its people.”

Ukraine. A new survey from the Finnish Business and Policy Forum Eva finds that some 55% of Finns think Ukraine is well suited to becoming a member of the EU in the future, despite the high costs likely involved.

USA. Does the new US VP nominee Tim Walz have any connection to Finland? He once wore a hat so that’s good enough, right? It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise however, since Walz is the Governor of Minnesota, which has historically seen more immigration from Finland than any other part of the US, according to the Census Bureau, about 100,000 people.

Walz visited Helsinki in 2021 when his state established official links with Finland and signed a number of joint cooperation agreements.

Russia. An odd one here. Foreign Minister Valtonen apparently told the London Times that Finland had let Donald Trump’s inner circle know the country is not up for hosting any US-Russia summit to talk about carving up Ukraine. Valtonen’s aide later clarified that no direct contact on the subject had been made with Trump’s people.

And finally…

If you’re looking for an internet palate cleanser, among all the horrible content we see so easily online, look no further than Elias Kalliola a Finnish wildlife photographer who takes the most amazing picture and videos of the animals around us - well, I guess not all of them are “around us” because they’re often rare or dangerous!

Thank you, kiitos, tack!

There’s no medals for making it to the end of this week’s newsletter, much like the Finnish Olympic team I guess 😭 but I can offer you a hearty thanks, kiitos or tack for reading so far. Next week the newsletter’s Insider Originals feature returns with journalism you won’t find anywhere else so for me at least that’s something to look forward to!

David