Putin's whistle, more government crises, bear meat and autumn sparkles

Hello Insiders!

I was putting this newsletter together 24 hours ago and then… just got overwhelmed with news from Finland, and none of it good.

Sometimes it makes me feel (very slightly) sorry for PM Petteri Orpo that he has nothing but scandal after scandal hitting his desk. Nine times out of ten it’s something the far-right Finns Party’s MPs have said or done (or not said or done) and then just for variety every once in a while there’s some clanger of his own party’s making.

Such is the news at the end of Week 37 and I’ll dive into it in detail below.

Coming up in today’s newsletter I’ve got a look at paperless migrants, Sámi Parliament politics, a grizzly discovery in Helsinki, and a beauty pageant winner.

All that still to come, but first this:

Insider Originals

President Alex Stubb is heading to New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly, and give Finland’s ‘elevator pitch to the world’ in front of other heads of state and heads of government.

From his back pocket, Stubb will be pulling out the cue cards marked “values-based realism” which has become his new foreign policy mantra - and therefore, Finland’s new foreign policy mantra too.

The term first emerged on the presidential election campaign trail last year and Stubb - routinely plagued by accusations of style over substance in his political career - has been slowly filling in the blanks about what it actually means in practice.

So I asked some experts and took a look at what the world can expect from Finland’s new foreign policy direction: values-based realism.

Click here to read the full story.

Inside the headlines

Police. Three police officers have been attacked, in two separate incidents, with authorities viewing it as attempted murder. On Thursday, someone shot at two officers in Espoo; while in Helsinki someone shot at an officer with a crossbow.

SJPL police union President Jonne Rinne says “an attack on the police is an attack on the entire Finnish society. Violence should not be accepted or said it's the new normal. Rinne suspects that three cases within 24 hours are not just coincidence but they indicate a change in society. “Police encounter more and more weapons in operational missions,” he says.

Migrants. The Guardian reports an outcry over government plans to roll-back a Sanna Marin-era law on giving basic healthcare to paperless immigrants. I wrote about this extensively a year ago (please keep up, Guardian!) and talked with a nurse who works in one of the Helsinki clinics to find out who comes for treatment and what sort of help they get. I also talked with Dan Sazanov the Kokoomus candidate for Helsinki mayor who told me at the time he would go against his party’s national policy and continue finding money in the Helsinki city budget to fund this modest healthcare initiative.

Read my full story here:

Wine. The government has been moving to make it easier for Finns to buy alcohol in supermarkets, but Christian Democrat MP Päivi Räsänen said this week that as long as her party is in government, there will be no wine sold in supermarkets.

Sámi . Members of the Sámi Parliament in Inari will vote on Monday for the new president. The incumbent, Pirita Näkkäläjärvi is expected to keep her role after an election re-run in the summer.

Protest. A group of pro-Palestinian activists interrupted a speech in Tampere by President Stubb on Wednesday.

Bear. Helsinki Police announced they discovered 600kg of bear meat at a warehouse in the capital after an international tip-off. The haul included bear bones, ears and paws. A number of people are being questioned about the find.

Inside politics

In government - at least the current Finnish government - there’s scandals which are hurting you today, and there’s scandals which you already know are going to keep causing pain in the days and weeks ahead.

This week’s biggest political scandals have the potential to cause reputational damage to Finland and the Orpo government.

Ukraine. Thanks to a great exclusive from MTV Uutiset political reporter Alec Neihum, we now know that Finland’s support for Ukraine has its limits. And that red line is helping Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ population.

In June, Finland declined to join a group of other countries (including Sweden, Estonia, Germany, UK, Norway and Denmark) which had formed the Alliance for Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Recovery in Ukraine.

That’s particularly surprising since Finnish foreign policy has long advocated for women and girls, and this alliance is trying to make sure that in Ukraine, “the needs of refugee women, returnees, women with disabilities, veterans, rural women and LGBTIQ+ people” were given the priority they deserve.

The catch there is helping LGBTQ+ which is a complete no-go for Minister Ville Tavio, from the right-wing Finns Party.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Tavio said “the public is making a fuss about this for no reason.”

Reaction. As you might imagine the reaction from other politicians - not just the opposition - and civil society has been swift and tough. The Social Democrats are calling for a vote of no confidence in Tavio this week, with broad support likely from other opposition parties.

“The Finns Party minister dances to Putin’s whistle,” says Green MP Alviina Alametsä, while the Kokoomus Mayor of Turku Minna Arve says “[Minister Tavio] is so afraid of gays that he forgets why there is a war in Ukraine: so that everyone has the opportunity to live their own life and love whoever they want. Ukraine must be supported in every way.”

MP Fatim Diarra (Green) writes to Tavio “girls, women, the elderly, the disabled and sexual minorities would also have been supported here. Is the fact that there is support for sexual minorities such a massive thing for you that you refuse Urkaina's request?”

And Liike Nyt leader Hjallis Harkimo MP asks “Who leads Finland's foreign policy, President Stubb or Minister Tavio? The whole show is about the assholes [he means the Finns Party] and the rest of the crowd jumps to their tune. A completely pointless play!”

For the record. Prime Minister Orpo said he knew about Tavio’s decision to keep Finland out of the reconstruction group, but noted that being in the group would also have aligned with Finland’s foreign policy objectives.

Energy. The second big political scandal this week, which hit Friday afternoon, is going to haunt the government for months to come, and undermine the traditional notion that Kokoomus is the party of skilful and sensible economic management.

As Suomen Kuvalehti first reported, the owners of the Caruna electricity network company are launching an international arbitration procedure against the Finnish state - the first time Finland has been taken to international arbitration by investors.

Caruna is majority-owned by two Canadian teachers’ pension funds, and the heart of the complaint is that the owners were essentially guaranteed a stable business environment, but a raft of regulatory changes introduced at the end of 2023 resulted in reduced revenues for electricity grid operators. Finnish companies impacted by the changes have already been filing their own complaints, but now the foreign owners are stepping up to make their discontent known too: it’s all about the money, bottom line.

Insider international

Palestine. At the United Nations this week, Finland voted in favour of a resolution which calls for Israel to withdraw from Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ukraine. Green MP Oras Tynkkynen put his name to a letter signed by dozens of regional parliamentarians from the Chairman of Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Committee to the US President, calling on Joe Biden to remove any restrictions on weapons sent to Ukraine.

Brussels. MEP Henna Virkkunen was named as the next European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. Politico describes Virkkunen as a “Finnish horse enthusiast.” Saddle up!

OSCE. Finland will soon take over the rotating presidency of the OSCE, and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has been in Vienna outlining the Nordic nation’s priorities.

And finally…

We all deserve a little glamour and sparkle in our lives, right? Especially as the days get a wee bit more gloomy and autumn closes in. So to brighten up your weekend I present the new Miss Suomi 2024 Matilda Wirtavuori who will compete in the Miss Universe pageant which takes place in Mexico City in November. Onnea, Matilda!

Thank you, kiitos, tack!

Thanks for sticking with things to the end this week. Honestly, I would prefer to write some positive stories and nothing about racism or homophobia or whatever the government’s latest scandals might be but I can’t fix Finland - at least not on my own!

So if you have suggestions for a story, an area you’d like me me to look at, or have a scoop then please do not hesitate to get in touch: [email protected] 

See you next Friday!

David