Pride, political shenanigans, border disputes, and anyone for tennis?

Hello Insiders!

Happy Friday! The week after Juhannus is always a little bit strange. Some people were back to work already on Monday - like Members of Parliament, more on that later - and some people use the Midsummer weekend as a springboard to put their ‘out of office’ message on until August.

Thousands of people have been gathering in Pori for the annual Suomi Areena event organised by MTV3 Uutiset - where the great and good mingle with normal people among an array of panel debates. In short: Lots of talking, lots of champagne, lots of selfies.

Here at Finland Insider it’s been mostly business as usual after Juhannus, although a home decorating project with painting and wallpaper has brought a certain amount of chaos to my usually calm office!

Coming up this week I’ve got a look at the fall-out from the walking political scandal that is Wille Rydman; there’s some strong presidential words about racism; questions about Eastern Finland being left behind when it comes to renewable energy; Pride weekend, an expensive Nokia acquisition, and good news for Finnish tennis as we head into Wimbledon fortnight.

All that still to come, but first this:

Insider Original

The new leader of the Swedish People’s Party Anders Adlercreutz inherits a party that’s managed to anger many of its core supporters and bamboozle liberal Finns by propping up a government that seems - at first and second glance - a million miles away from SFP in terms of values. Can Adlercreutz change perceptions, or does he even want to? I talked to him about these issues and more in this week’s deep dive original story:

Inside the headlines

Pardon. Finland’s President Alex Stubb has issued the first pardon of his time in office. On Friday morning he pardoned a 40-year-old man from Pieksämäki who had been serving two years and 10 months for more than a dozen drugs crime convictions. The president heard how the man was coerced into committing the crimes by other people and changed his sentence from an unconditional prison sentence to a conditional one.

Juhannus. Five people drowned this year at Midsummer. The average in the last decade is six deaths per Midsummer weekend.

Nokia. The Finnish telecoms company has spent €2.1 billion to buy American optical network solutions company Infera.

Elokapina. The Extinction Rebellion environmental protest group is planning its boldest action so far on Friday, closing the intersection of Länsiväylä and Porkkalankatu in western Helsinki. 

Pride. The annual Helsinki Pride celebrations in the capital are expected to bring 100,000 people together for a march and rally in the city centre. Always a colourful and joyful event so if you’re taking part this year have fun!

Crash anniversary. It’s been 50 years since a deadly air crash killed five Sámi politicians and their pilot. The delegation was on its way to the Nordic Sámi conference in Snåsa, Norway, when the small plane carrying them disappeared near Bodø on 24 June 1974. The wreckage of the plane has never been found.

Economy. The Bank of Finland held an economic conference in Helsinki this week which attracted an international audience. Read BoF Chairperson Olli Rehn’s full speech here.

Eastern Finland. Is the eastern part of the country falling behind the rest of the country in terms of green energy investment and infrastructure because of national security concerns? The Ministry of Defence argues that wind turbines are a particular problem where they clash with border security measures - however the ministry says solar power projects are less problematic. “From the point of view of national defence, the harms associated with clean energy investments, for example solar power, are much easier to control than the harms of wind power.”

Birds. The number of common birds found in Finland has decreased significantly. Researchers say the long-term decline is due mostly to habitat destruction.

Wimbledon. Three Finnish tennis players have made it into the first week of competition at the famed Wimbledon tournament in England, which starts next week. Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori will play in the men’s singles competition, while Harri Heliövaara will play in the men’s doubles with his British partner Henry Patten. Heliövaara was the 2023 US Open Champion in mixed doubles. And in the boy’s competition young Oskari Paldanius will be in action on the grass in West London.

Inside politics

Left. The Left Alliance has a problem on its hands in the shape of new MP Johannes Yrttiaho (who replaces Li Anderson when she goes to Brussels as an MEP). The Turku politician has broken ranks with his party (and most of parliament / the entire country) on issues like sanctions against Russia and Finland’s NATO membership.

Racism. A Kokoomus councillor in Turku is demanding that his party takes tougher action when Finns Party politicians say racist things. Writing on social media, Alvar Euro says “Let's intervene in racist activities, and take the threat of the extreme right seriously. The deepening of values ​​and the growth of hatred cannot continue. It's about humanity, and our common safety.”

Racism, part deux. In an interview with MTV Uutiset at Suomi Areena this week, President Stubb said “I am concerned about politicians, Finnish, Nordic, European, global, who use harsh, harsh language. Calm down, calm down.” He also said “All racism must be eradicated from Finland.”

Border. The contentious new legislation which would allow Finland to close its eastern frontier in the event that Russia would send over waves of migrants to try and overwhelm the Finnish Border Guard and local authorities, is in its final throes. It looks like it might pass in parliament on Friday afternoon even if some government MPs abstain or vote against it. I’ll have more on the aftermath of this in next Friday’s newsletter.

Portfolios: After a shuffle within the ranks of SFP, Joakim Strand becomes Finland’s new Minister for European Affairs. As noted elsewhere, Anders Adlercreutz takes on the education portfolio.

Brussels: Former SFP leader Anna-Maja Henriksson has been elected as a Vice President of the Renew Europe group at the European Parliament.

Finland International

Ukraine. The government has approved another military aid package for Ukraine, taking the total amount of military aid provided to €2.2 billion. Finland has been traditionally tight-lipped about what exactly is being provided to Ukraine’s military.

Russia. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has welcomed a new EU sanctions package against Russia and Belarus, and spoken about the range of ongoing threats Finland, and Europe, faces from Russia:

Georgia. Kokoomus MP Saara-Sofia Sirén says that pro-European voices in Georgia need more support. Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Sirén said “It is important to show solidarity with those Georgians who are committed to democratic development and want to anchor closer to Europe. Georgia needs support on its way to EU membership. That path requires a commitment to the development of the rule of law and democracy."

And finally…

Instagram sensation @JoshOfWestern always brings a smile to my face with his quirky, un-selfconscious thoughts about living in Finland. Check out his page if you haven’t already discovered it - just think of the alternative, you could be doom-scrolling instead!

Kiitos, thank you, tack!

Cheers for making it to the end of another Finland Insider newsletter, I salute your indefatigability!

If you have any story ideas or tips, please get in touch with me directly at [email protected] and I’d be happy to hear from you.

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

David